Accessibility Checklist
Ally’s accessibility checklist is based on WCAG 2.2 AA (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). This is an international accessibility standard, and most of the new legislation and legal requirements worldwide aligns with this standard.
Additionally, Ally also adds a number of additional checks on top of this that start to target the usability and quality of the content a bit more.
What content does Ally check?
Currently, Ally checks files in these formats:
PDF files
Microsoft® Word files
Microsoft® PowerPoint® files
OpenOffice/LibreOffice files
Uploaded HTML files
Image files (JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF)
WYSIWYG/VTBE content
YouTube videos embedded in WYSIWYG/VTBE content
LMS content editor (WYSIWYG) content
Important
The results for WYSIWYG content only appear in the Institutional Report and Course accessibility report.
Ally also checks these content types created through the system content WYSIWYG editor for accessibility issues.
The data appears in the Institutional Report as HTML. It appears in the CSV export as application column headers.
Blackboard Original
Content Folder (application/x-folder)
Content Item (application/x-item)
Learning Module (application/x-learning-module)
Lesson Plan (application/x-lesson)
A link to a Forum (application/x-link-discussion-topic)
Web Link (application/x-link-web)
Embedded LTI application (application/x-lti-launch)
All other WYSIWYG content types including Blank page and Module page (application/x-page)
Blackboard Ultra
Document (application/x-document)
Folder (application/x-folder)
Learning Module (application/x-learning-module)
A link to a Forum (application/x-link-discussion-topic)
Web Link (application/x-link-web)
Embedded LTI application (application/x-lti-launch)
Moodle
Assignment (application/x-assignment)
Book (application/x-book)
Book chapter (application/x-book-chapter)
Discussion topics (application/x-discussion-topic)
Forum description (application/x-forum)
Glossary description (application/x-glossary)
Glossary entry (application/x-glossary-entry)
Label (application/x-label)
Lesson description (application/x-lesson-description)
Lesson page (application/x-lesson-page)
Page content (application/x-page-content)
Page introduction (application/x-page-intro)
Section (application/x-section)
Syllabus (application/x-syllabus)
Canvas
Announcement (application/x-announcement)
Assignment (application/x-assignment)
Discussion Topics (application/x-discussion-topic)
Quiz description (application/x-quiz)
Syllabus (application/x-syllabus)
Page (application/x-page)
D2L Brightspace
Discussion Topics (application/x-discussion-topic)
File (application/x-file)
Web Links (application/x-link-web)
Module (application/x-module)
Quiz description (application/x-quiz)
Schoology
Assignment (application/x-assignment)
Discussion Topics (application/x-discussion-topic)
Page (application/x-page)
HTML checklist
Accesskey attribute value must be unique
WCAG 2.2 - 2.1.1 Keyboard
Active <area> elements must have alternate text
WCAG 2.2 - 1.1.1 Non-text Content
Elements must only use allowed ARIA attributes
WCAG 2.1 - 4.1.1 Parsing
WCAG 2.2 - 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
Required ARIA attributes must be provided
WCAG 2.2 - 4.1.1 Parsing
WCAG 2.2 - 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
Certain ARIA roles must contain particular children
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Certain ARIA roles must be contained by particular parents
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
ARIA roles used must conform to valid values
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
WCAG 2.1 - 4.1.1 Parsing
WCAG 2.2 - 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
ARIA attributes must conform to valid names
WCAG 2.1 - 4.1.1 Parsing
ARIA attributes must conform to valid values
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
WCAG 2.1 - 4.1.1 Parsing
WCAG 2.2 - 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
<blink> elements are deprecated and must not be used
WCAG 2.2 - 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide
Buttons must have discernible text
WCAG 2.2 - 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
Page must have a way to bypass repeated blocks of content
WCAG 2.2 - 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks
Checkbox inputs with the same name attribute value must be part of a group
Text elements must have sufficient color contrast against the background
WCAG 2.2 - 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)
Major issue
<dl> elements must only directly contain properly-ordered <dt> and <dd> groups, <script> or <template> elements (Minor)
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
<dt> and <dd> elements must be contained by a <dl>
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Embedded YouTubeTM video <audio> elements must have a <track> for captions
Note
Auto-generated YouTube captions are not considered to be valid captions.
WCAG 2.2 - 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)
Major issue
id attribute value must be unique
WCAG 2.2 - 2.4.2 Page titled
Headings should be present
Major issue
Heading structure does not start at one
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Major issue
Headings should not be empty
WCAG 2.2 – 2.4.6 Headings and Labels
Major issue
Frames must have unique title attribute
WCAG 2.2 - 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks
<html> element must have a lang attribute
WCAG 2.2 - 3.1.1
Heading structure isn't appropriate, levels should only increase by one
Minor issue
Images must have alternate text description
WCAG 2.2 - 1.1.1 Non-text Content
Major issue
Text of buttons and links should not be repeated in the image alternative description
Major issue
Image buttons must have alternate text
WCAG 2.2 - 1.1.1 Non-text Content
Major issue
Form elements must have labels
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
WCAG 2.2 - 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions
Major issue
Form elements should have a visible label
Major issue
<html> element must have a valid value for the lang attribute
WCAG 2.2 - 3.1.1 Language of Page
Minor issue
Layout tables must not use data table elements
WCAG 2.1 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Links must have discernible text
WCAG 2.2 - 1.1.1 Non-text Content
WCAG 2.2 - 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
Minor issue
Links work and aren't broken
Note
This check is only in Ally for Websites and Web Community Manager (WCM) at this time.
<ul> and <ol> must only directly contain <li> content elements
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
<li> elements must be contained in a <ul> or <ol>
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
<marquee> elements are deprecated and must not be used
WCAG 2.2 - 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide
Timed refresh must not exist
WCAG 2.2 - 2.2.1Timing Adjustable
WCAG 2.2 - 2.2.4 Interruptions
WCAG 2.2 - 3.2.5 Change on Request
Zooming and scaling must not be disabled (2x)
WCAG 2.2 - 1.4.4 Resize text
Zooming and scaling should allow maximum scale of 5
<object> elements must have alternate text
WCAG 2.2 - 1.1.1 Non-text Content
Radio inputs with the same name attribute value must be part of a group
Content should be contained in a landmark region
scope attribute should be used correctly on tables
Server-side image maps must not be used
WCAG 2.2 - 2.1.1Keyboard
The page should have a skip link as its first link
Elements should not have tabindex greater than zero
The <caption> element should not contain the same text as the summary attribute
Data or header cells should not be used to give caption to a data table
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Major issue
All non-empty <td> elements in a table larger than 3 by 3 must have an associated table header
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Major issue
All cells in a <table> element that use the headers attribute must only refer to other cells of that same table
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
All <th> elements and elements with role=columnheader/rowheader must have data cells they describe
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Documents must have <title> element to aid in navigation
WCAG 2.2 - 2.4.2 Page titled
lang attribute must have a valid value
WCAG 2.2 - 3.1.2 Language of Parts
Minor issue
Embedded YouTube <video> elements must have a <track> for captions
WCAG 2.2 - 1.2.2 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)
WCAG 2.2 - 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded)
Major issue
<video> elements must have an audio description track
WCAG 2.2 - 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded)
Major issue
Image checklist
Note
This includes JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BPM, and TIFF files.
The image can induce seizures
WCAG 2.2 - 2.3 Seizures
Severe issue
The image does not have an alternative description
WCAG 2.2 - 1.1.1 Non-text Content
Major issue
The image has text that is not part of the alternative description
WCAG 2.2 - 1.4.5 Images of text
Minor issue
The image has contrast issues
WCAG 2.2 - 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)
WCAG 2.2 - 1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced)
Major issue
PDF checklist
The PDF is malformed
Severe issue
The PDF is encrypted
Severe issue
The PDF is scanned
WCAG 2.2 - 1.4.5 Images of text
Severe issue
The PDF is untagged
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships o
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence
Major issue
The PDF does not have a language set
WCAG 2.2 - 3.1.1 Language of Page
Minor issue
The PDF does not have the correct language set
WCAG 2.2 - 3.1.1 Language of Page
Minor issue
The PDF has images without alternative descriptions
WCAG 2.2 - 1.1.1 Non-text Content
Major issue
The PDF has contrast issues
WCAG 2.2 - 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)
WCAG 2.2 - 1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced)
Major issue
The PDF does not have any headings
Note
This accessibility check is currently only enforced for PDFs that have a minimum of 3 pages.
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Major issue
The PDF does not have an appropriate heading structure
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Minor issue
The PDF’s heading structure does not start at one
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Major issue
The PDF’s heading structure goes beyond six levels
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Minor issue
The PDF has tables that don't have any headers
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Major issue
The PDF does not have a title
WCAG 2.2 – 2.4.2 Page Titled
Minor issue
Office document checklist
Note
This includes Microsoft® Word and LibreOffice Writer.
The document is malformed
Severe issue
The document is encrypted
Severe issue
The document does not have a language set
WCAG 2.2 - 3.1.1 Language of Page
Minor issue
The document does not have the correct language set
WCAG 2.2 - 3.1.1 Language of Page
Minor issue
The document has images without alternative descriptions
Note
When using the web version of Office 365, ensure that you fill out the "Description" field in the Alternative Text panel.
WCAG 2.2 - 1.1.1 Non-text Content
Major issue
The document has text with insufficient contrast
WCAG 2.2 - 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)
WCAG 2.2 - 1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced)
Major issue
The document does not have any headings
Note
This accessibility check is currently only enforced for Word documents that contain a minimum of 12 paragraphs.
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Major issue
The document does not have an appropriate heading structure
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Minor issue
The document heading structure does not start at one
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Major issue
The document’s heading structure goes beyond six levels
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Minor issue
The document has tables that don't have any headers
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Major issue
Presentation slide checklist
Note
This includes Microsoft® PowerPoint® and LibreOffice Impress.
The presentation is malformed
Severe issue
The presentation is encrypted
Severe issue
The presentation does not have a language set
WCAG 2.2 - 3.1.1 Language of Page
Minor issue
The presentation does not have the correct language set
WCAG 2.2 - 3.1.1 Language of Page
Minor issue
The presentation has images without alternative descriptions
WCAG 2.2 - 1.1.1 Non-text Content
Major issue
The presentation has text with insufficient contrast
WCAG 2.2 - 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)
WCAG 2.2 - 1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced)
Major issue
The presentation does not have any headings
Note
This accessibility check enforces a minimum of 1 title for every 7 slides in a PowerPoint document.
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Major issue
The presentation has tables that don't have any headers
WCAG 2.2 - 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Major issue