Accessibility and Inclusivity

What is accessibility?

All documents and web content must be accessible to all people. PDFs, by and large, are less accessible documents: Difficult for screen reading software to use and difficult to navigate. They also are harder to search and index on search engines like Google. Web accessibility is the websites, tools, and technologies designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. 

Why is accessibility important to this project?

Our goal should always be to make our content as accessible and inclusive to all readers as possible. According to W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, web accessibility is the websites, tools, and technologies designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. Specifically, so people can:

• perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web
• contribute to the web

This includes color contrast ratios in design, captions or transcriptions for video and audio files, the ability to use a keyboard to navigate a website, and much more. 

Standards

Starting from October 2023, The DX Platform websites are designed to be easily usable for everyone, meeting these specific accessibility standards:

• WCAG 2.1 Level A/AA
• WAI-ARIA 1.2
• ATAG 2.0.
• Revised Section 508

Part of accessibility is making certain your content is written at the 8th grade level in plain language. 

Using the State of Iowa Voice, Tone, and Style Guide is a great reference to writing for accessible content. Learn more about the plain language in government initiative. 

As you write, ask yourself these questions:

• Would someone be able to easily translate it to their preferred language? 
• If someone was using a screen reader to narrate what’s on the screen, would the order and cadence make sense?
• Can someone on a small device, such as a smartphone, quickly and easily scan the page to understand it at a high level?

Learn more about writing for all people as part of our style guide.

Run Lighthouse Scans for accessibility

A platform sample is run through a weekly scan and findings are ticketed and put back into production to always hit a passing score.

If you would like to run a Lighthouse scan:

1. Download or use the Chrome browser.
2. Review your homepage (or any sample page on your agency website) in an Incognito window.
3. Choose the dropdown menu item: View | Developer | Developer Tools.
4. Choose the "Lighthouse" link, then "Analyze page load."
    

PDF Editorial Guidance

• Always create HTML where possible

• Only use PDFs where needed or if lengthy

   

Did you know ServiceNow offers Accessibility Training & Resources?

Service Now Accessibility Knowledge Articles

Did you know ServiceNow offers a wealth of resources on accessibility best practices? Explore our knowledge base to find a library of articles designed to help you create inclusive digital experiences

Accessibility Training: Now in ServiceNow!