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Section 508 Web Accessibility
- Accessibility Without Style Sheets Guidelines
§1194.22(d) Documents shall be organized so they are
readable without requiring an associated style sheet.
Checkpoint
Is all information properly and accurately conveyed if the style sheet is removed?
Explanation
Style sheets are used to give every page within a site the same "look and
feel." If necessary, you can search through the page's source code for a
<style> tag, or for a more involved tag such as
<link rel="STYLESHEET" type="text/css" href="access.css">.
Guidelines
Some web browsers give users the ability to define their own style
sheet (e.g. a user with poor vision may create a style sheet so
that all visited pages are rendered with extra large font with
white characters on a black background, no matter what web page is
accessed). However, if a designer sets the page's style sheet to
override user-defined style sheets, the person with poor vision
might not be able to read that page. Therefore, it is critical
that designers ensure that their web pages do not interfere with
user-defined style sheets.
The W3C web site has more information on style sheets:
http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/
Checkpoint
Is the style sheet used for positioning?
Explanation
Style sheets can be used instead of tables to position data in relevant
groupings.
Guidelines
If the page's style sheet is removed, or the user deactivates
style sheet capability at the browser level, or the user is
working with an older browser that does not acknowledge style
sheets, the data must still be sequentially readable and
understandable, both by assistive technology and by the human eye.
Checkpoint
Is the style sheet used for font description?
Explanation
A common use of style sheets is to make the font descriptions consistent
for all pages on a site.
Guidelines
A style sheet alone should not be used to convey the importance of a word
or passage.
For color-blind users, or for those with User Agents that do not
acknowledge style sheets, enclose important words or passages in
<strong> or <em> tags.
Keep in mind that the above method will not make a difference to users of
assistive technology. Therefore, above all, important passages should be
written in a way that their importance will be understood by those who
cannot physically see it.
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