Accessibility Tools
As part of the support the Technology Accessibility Program (TAP) provides to state agencies, there are a number of software solutions, including Siteimprove, that TAP and OIT provide. Please note that all software is for PC computers only (Aira excluded).
Approved uses of TAP provided software includes only public and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data.
We do not recommend use of TAP software with any data that is: Protected Health Information (PHI), Criminal Justice Information (CJI), Federal Tax Information (FTI), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Social Security Administration (SSA) or other protected data (including documents that are protected under an NDA). If you would like to use this software for any protected data, please reach out to your IT Director for further guidance and support.
Requesting TAP Licenses
Both Unlimited and Limited licenses can be requested using the TAP Software Request Form.
Submit your request using the TAP Software Request Form for the software you need.
The TAP team will review and approve incoming requests.
An email will be sent to you by the TAP team with further instructions.
Once you have your approval email, you (the requestor) can then submit a ticket through the OIT Customer Portal website via a "Submit a Ticket" request. Be sure to attach your software approval email; in your ticket.
Your agency's deskside support team will then contact you to install the software onto your computer. Note that your deskside support team can reach out to Deskside HQ for questions or assistance with installation.
Unlimited licenses
The following unlimited license software is also available to the state agencies and offices outside of OIT's service purview (non-consolidated executive branches listed at the bottom of the Planning page). Please reach out to the IT Director within your agency or office to submit a request through the OIT Customer Self-Service Portal.
JAWS/ZoomText/Fusion: JAWS is screen Reader software, ZoomText is Screen magnification software, and Fusion is a combination of both software solutions. This software is for screen reader users.
If you are testing for screen reader functionality it is recommended that you request and use Jaws Inspect.
Be aware that there are system requirements to install this software that include:
i7 Processor
16GB
256GB SSD
Windows 10
Dedicated Graphics Card with at least 512MB RAM
Jaws Inspect: Software for developers and product owners to test screen reader functionality on web pages (only) without having to know how to use screen reader software.
Limited Licenses
Limited licenses can be requested using the TAP Software Request Form.
The following limited license software is not available to the state agencies and offices outside of OIT's service purview (non-consolidated executive branches listed at the bottom of the Planning page).
For limited license software, we are currently approving five (5) licenses per agency per software type, as available. Please note that limited licenses are given on a first-come, first-served basis.
CommonLook: Plug-in software tools for Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word, and PowerPoint to help make documents accessible and to remediate any outstanding document accessibility issues. Note that this software requires Acrobat and/or Word/PowerPoint to complete the installation and is only available for PCs.
Adobe Acrobat DC Pro: PDF software that includes the Accessibility Checker tool for remediation of any outstanding accessibility issues. Works in tandem with CommonLook as well. Note that if you have Adobe Creative Cloud you already have this software available to you.
Free Browser Extensions
WebAIM Color Contrast Tool, WebAIM
Siteimprove Browser Extensions (Chrome and Firefox), Siteimprove
Google Chrome Extensions
State-approved Google Chrome extensions, (Google Chrome Webstore).
Chrome Extensions and Apps from Google Play must be approved by the Google Team. Request an extension through the Add-On/Extension Request Form.
For questions about TAP software please contact us at OIT_accessibility@state.co.us.
Resources
Siteimprove Intro & Demo (Slides)
Siteimprove Intro & Demo (Meeting Recording)
Siteimprove Intro & Demo (Meeting Transcript)
Siteimprove Intro & Demo (Meeting Chat Transcript)
Siteimprove Admin Role (Doc)
Siteimprove
Siteimprove is an automated evaluation tool that uses a web crawling algorithm to index (read) your website’s code. Its goal is to help you monitor and improve your website’s user experience, including accessibility and quality assurance.
Siteimprove Intro & Demo (Slides)
Siteimprove Intro & Demo (Meeting Recording)
Siteimprove Intro & Demo (Meeting Transcript)
Siteimprove Intro & Demo (Meeting Chat Transcript)
Benefits of Siteimprove
Siteimprove can help you better manage your website(s).
It can detect issues that affect accessibility, content quality, and search engine optimization.
It can help you and your team save time, streamline content management, and identify opportunities for optimization.
How Siteimprove works
Siteimprove crawls sites every five days. Learn more about the Siteimprove crawler.
Siteimprove will crawl large HTML websites but not applications within the website. Pages that are dynamic like catalogs, search interfaces, shopping carts, databases, etc. cannot be crawled.
TAP can add intranet and other HTML sites requiring authentication. Depending on the site, Siteimprove will either need credentials to log in or Siteimprove's IP addresses need to be whitelisted.
How to add intranet and other non-public sites.
If adding an internal (e.g. intranet) Google site, please give oit_site_improve@state.co.us viewer access.
Siteimprove User Options
User - This is used for employees and vendor representatives who are content contributors or managers for one or more of your websites.
Administrator - This is generally reserved for employees who are website managers/webmasters/administrators, members of the Marketing and/or Communications management team, and members of the Technology Accessibility Program (TAP) team.
This role also comes with additional responsibilities.
Review the Siteimprove Admin Role document for important information regarding this role.
Read Only - Used for employees who would like to review Siteimprove reports, but do not manage any websites.
Frontier Only - Used for employees who only would like access to accessibility training provided by Siteimprove. How to Add a Frontier-Only User (Doc).
How to be added as a user
To be added as a Siteimprove user, please email oit_accessibility@state.co.us with the name(s), email address(es), and website address(es) of the site(s) monitored.
When you have been added as a user and you can expect a welcome email from Siteimprove with instructions for logging in for the first time.
Siteimprove provides an extensive Help Center and Academy to get you started on using the tool and learning about accessibility.
Frontier: Siteimprove Learning Platform
Additionally, Siteimprove has training courses on how to use the reporting tools and on accessibility in their training platform, Frontier. To access the courses, please follow these steps:
Click "Help Center and Training"
Select the option for "Training and certificates"
You will be taken to the Frontier platform and your user information will be added to Frontier.
You can now navigate to the Frontier course catalog and begin taking courses in Frontier.
Links to the most commonly used training for state agencies are listed below. Please ensure that they have followed the steps above before utilizing these links. It is very important that users navigate to training via the Siteimprove platform first, especially the first time they use the training platform.
For questions about Siteimprove software please contact us at OIT_accessibility@state.co.us.
Aira Visual Interpreter Service
Navigate state locations and digital services more easily with Aira.
Everyone deserves equal access to essential state services. As part of its drive to create a Colorado for All, the State of Colorado is partnering with Aira to connect those who are blind or have low vision with highly trained visual interpreters to remove barriers when navigating state-operated buildings and digital services for free for up to 30 minutes per session.
For questions about Aira please contact us at OIT_accessibility@state.co.us.