Web Developers

If you design or develop a University of Guelph website, you will need to familiarize yourself with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Once you understand the principles and guidelines that help ensure an accessible website, you must ensure that all components of the website are designed and developed in a way that fulfills (at minimum) all success criteria required by the AODA web standard. The University of Guelph has developed web design guidelines and accessibility procedures and practices for website developers. Please review these procedures and incorporate them into your workflow.

Study the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0

Before developing a new website or making any significant changes to an existing website, make sure you are aware of all principles and guidelines that help ensure an accessible website.

At minimum, any website updates should conform to Level A of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 as required by Section 14 of the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR) under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

By January 1, 2021, all University of Guelph websites should conform to Level AA of the WCAG 2.0.

Register for a SiteImprove Web Accessibility Course

Visit SiteImprove Academy to register for SiteImprove web accessibility certification courses. These courses are free for anyone from the University of Guelph.

Monitor your Website for Accessibility Issues

The University of Guelph monitors the accessibility of its websites using an online web governance service called SiteImprove. Once a site is added to SiteImprove, the service will check the site for accessibility issues, broken links, and spelling mistakes that can be found through automated means. If you would like to monitor your University of Guelph website using SiteImprove, contact the University of Guelph Digital Accessibility Resource Centre. Be ready to provide the URL of the website you wish to monitor and the name of the department associated with the website.

Use an Accessible Web Template

Accessible templates that follow University of Guelph branding are available for use by web designers and developers on campus. Prior to building a new University of Guelph website, consider the benefits of using a University of Guelph accessible template.