Writing Accessible Web Content

DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is committed to providing access to our Web pages to members of the public and federal employees with disabilities. Providing this access is not just the right thing to do—it's a federal requirement. Read more about our Policies for Accessibility.

Developers will ensure that the code is accessible to all users, but is your content also following Section 508 accessibility standards? Follow the requirements below to ensure that your pages are accessible.

Requirements

Include alt text for all images. Alt text should present the content and function of the image and convey the same information that the sighted user gets from an image. Follow the guide to writing alt text to ensure that your alt text meet standards. Alt text allows 1,024 characters—roughly 200 words.
Do not duplicate alt text in captions. Visitors using screen readers will hear the same text twice if the caption duplicates the alt tag.
Do not use color to convey important information. Not everyone can differentiate colors.
Include synchronized captions for all audio or video files. If synchronized captions are not possible, an acceptable alternative is a transcript with the full text and descriptions of the video.

Related Accessibility Information

Writing Alt Text
Accessibility Policy
QA Checklist for Developers (Items are marked as 508 requirements)
Multimedia QA Checklist (Items are marked as 508 requirements)