508 Compliance Checklist

Section 508 Compliance Checklist

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a document that ensures that every web page, software, or app, is accessible to all people with disabilities. Inside, there is a checklist that helps simplify the federal information that consists of within the Act!

In times when web accessibility is very popular, the 508 Compliance Checklist is something that everyone should know and be able to understand. It is also a federal requirement that follows guidance through various official US government portals. The best way to do that is to start digesting the criteria and optimizing your web pages, apps, or software in simple steps!

In order to meet the accessibility criteria, one must first test their website, app, or software and see if the requirements are met. When testing, you will notice different recommendations such as alt text alternatives on your images, accessibility in PDF files, etc!

What Are Section 508 Compliance Requirements: A Little Bit Of History

If you are new to accessibility or assistive technology standards, you probably don’t know that the Rehabilitation Act for these was originally introduced in 1973. Section 508, on the other hand, was added as an amendment to the original version in 1986!

The goal of these regulations was to create a standard around electronic and information technologies. However, there were no meaningful enforcement mechanisms back then, which is why in 1998, the US Congress implemented a new Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, dealing with issues of compliance through the process of market research and government procurement!

With the last version, there were many issues of compliance that were addressed, as well as some technical standards against which products can be evaluated to establish and confirm that they meet the technical compliance standards!

What Are The Main Section 508 Compliance Requirements?

We are listing a summary of some of the technical standards for Section 508 compliance that need to be addressed for various electronic and information technologies:

• Desktop & Portable Computers

• Self-Contained & Closed Products

• Software Apps & Operating Systems

• Telecommunication Products

• Videos/Multimedia

• Web-Based Intranet/Internet Applications

Section 508 Compliance Requirements For People Using Assistive Technology (Screen Readers, Magnifiers, Etc.)

If you want to get started with the Section 508 checklist and ensure that accessibility tags are present in your content, here are some of the categories including the common accessibility considerations that you need to make:

• Landmarks

• Language attribute

• Navigation

• Skip navigation

• Document structure

• Alt text on images

• JavaScript

• ARIA Labels

• Media

• Color

• Color Blindness Test

• Flashing/Blinking Test

• Text Size

• Page Titles

• Testing

The checklist above is a great place to start testing the properties on your website. You can establish checklists for your site and start implementing the changes!

What Are The Best Tips For Ensuring Full Section 508 Compliance?

As we said in the beginning, Section 508 is a complex standard that is complete in many ways. You can expect to find a lot of guidance and checklists on how to ensure accessibility, how not to fail with it, and how to grant full access to people with disabilities. For instance, the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has worked on a tutorial to give us comprehensive information and instructions on how to comply with the 508 standards!

The tips generally stick to the following 508 Compliance checklist:

• Use clear visuals

• Supplement your audio and video

• Make sure you are keyboard-friendly

• Provide accessible forms and files

• “Skip Navigation” options

• Create tables, lists, and fillable forms

• Optimize your background

• Avoid encoding errors

• Keep it simple with special effects

• Use image alt text consistently

• Provide unique hyperlink labels

• Avoid poor color and contrast combinations

• Create online fulfillable forms

We hope that this guide gave you insights on all the checklists you need to optimize your websites and make every bit of information accessible!

If you need professional assistance, you are in the right place. We provide services that assist you with ensuring full compliance and completing every step of the process with ease. For more details, you can always contact us on our phone number: 561-258-9300 and schedule a free consultation with our team of experts!