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Complying with the Law

The State of Utah uses the W3C recommendations and Section 508 guidelines.

For a full review of the standards, please refer to the State of Utah Web Standards and Guidelines guide.

The standards are broken down into 12 sections with “guidance indications.”

  1. Utah Accessibility Policy: Required
  2. Federal Law: Recommended and required as applicable
  3. Standards – Section 508 :Recommended and required as applicable
  4. Standards – W3C (World Wide Web Consortium):Required
  5. Web Accessibility Design Issues and Best Practices:Recommended
  6. Accessibility and Document Image Files:Required
  7. Screen Readers:Recommended
  8. Multimedia, Audio, and Video Files:Recommended
    1. Alternative forms of accommodations:Recommended
    2. Captions:Recommended
    3. Audio Descriptions:Recommended
  9. Non-Standard Extensions:Recommended
  10. JAVA and JavaScript Accessibility:Required
  11. Usability Tools:Recommended
  12. Other Usability Resources:Recommended

Under the Utah Accessibility Policy, the state has allocated certain design standards that websites must feature. These include:

  • Straightforward design: Meaning simple architecture, organized navigation, and reliable headings for easier navigation. Utah has also adopted a statewide header so that every state agency website is consistent and provides an easier way to navigate back home.
  • Images with alternative text: Meaning text descriptions for an image, graphics, and hyperlinked images.
  • Relative font sizing: Meaning font size can be modified to small, medium, or large under “my settings” at the top of the page.
  • The Navigation: Meaning the main navigation uses lists to make it easier for screen readers to read down the list.
  • Style Sheets: Meaning Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) style the information on the website.
  • Layout: Meaning a flexible layout that can be accommodated for any screen resolution, mobile, or tablet device.
  • Multimedia: Meaning the transcripts of audio and video description are linked with files. Videos should play on an HTML5 player so that they can be viewed on mobile devices.
  • Hypertext links: Meaning text describes the hyperlink so that users know where it will take them.
  • Scripts and AJAX: Meaning alternative methods for searching or alternative content is provided in case active features are inaccessible or unsupported by the users web browser.
  • Accessibility validation: Meaning the website designed is checked with tools, checklists, and guidelines as suggested by W3C.