Find out how using Macromedia Contribute or Dreamweaver can help you keep your site accessible.
Departments, colleges, units, and divisions that request IWSS's creative Web site services will receive a detailed Web site accessibility check to ensure their sites are accessible to ALL users, no matter their ability or disability, in accordance with Federal government standards (section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act). IWSS recommends our clients use either of the Macromedia site development software programs, Contribute or Dreamweaver, for ensuring accessibility. Once the initial project is complete, it is then the department's responsibility to make sure the site stays accessible.
Important: All Illinois State University Web site developers must meet SEC. 508 U.S. Rehabilitation Act accessibility requirements (see policy 8.2.10 Illinois State University Web Sites) when creating/maintaining their Web sites. Therefore, all campus Web developers should read and abide by the University's Web Accessibility Checklist (pdf), which explains the federal Web site accessibility requirements in detail and how to repair a site.
Illinois State University's mission is to provide all users, including those with disabilities, a functional, accessible, interactive Web experience. Please contact us if you would like IWSS to perform a thorough accessibility check on your site.
The IWSS eStoryboard ensures all Web pages created by our office are printer-friendly. The eStoryboard uses built-in functions to hide all photos and design elements, leaving only the textual information, when a page is printed. Your visitors will appreciate this functionality, as it saves them both paper and ink.
IWSS ensures all sites we create can be read by screen reading programs for the visually impaired. We do this by using descriptive tags which explain non-textual elements such as tables and images. We also use navigational tags that allow screen readers to process the information on the page by order of importance, and to skip through repetitive information.
Web developers must keep in mind that certain types of color blindness can make specific colors difficult to distinguish or illegible on their Web pages. To see how your Web pages/images will appear to color-blind individuals, download some Photoshop® and Paint Shop Pro palettes to use within these software programs. If you don't have Photshop® or Paint Shop Pro, you can use Vischeck Classic to test out your pages. Simply save your Web page as an image and Vischeck will do the rest.
Forms of Colorblindness:
The screen shots below show how Illinois State's home page would appear to various visitors. Using contrasting colors allows the page to be visible to all.
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| Illinois State Web page using Web safe colors |
Illinois State Web page simulating deuteranopia blindness |
Illinois State Web page simulating protanopia blindness |
Phone: (309) 438-8835
Fax: (309) 438-8871
Email:
Campus Box 6350
Normal, Illinois 61790-6350
Campus Location: Old Union Building Room 220
