/Web Audit Checklist

I. Overall

1. None of the content of the site is redundant to the university core content system; core content elements of the site (directory, news, students) are connected to the university system.
2. The content fills a need or a purpose and is appropriate for online presentation.
3. Content creates a positive, professional impression that supports or enhances the university's brand and reputation.
4. The design avoids horizontal scrolling at 1024 pixels.
5. Pages are designed for common browsers and operating systems, accounting for browser differences.
6. Pages use the most recent university standard header and footer.
7. Pages provide a page contact from the appropriate organization with at least two of the following items: e-mail, mailing address, physical address and/or phone number.

II. Logos

1. One (and only one) official university logo is used on a page.
2. Sparky is used in accordance with university guidelines.

III. Colors

1. Colors from the ASU color palette.
2. Foreground and background color combinations provide sufficient contrast (particularly for images).
3. All information conveyed with color is also available without color.

IV. Text and Content

1. Text is presented in sans-serif fonts only. Allison font has been replaced in graphics with Akzidenz-Grotesk or Arial in content.
2. The communications tone and style is appropriate for the audience.
3. Writing follows the ASU Style guide.
4. Content is concise, accurate, and up-to-date.
5. Changes in the natural language of a document's text and any text equivalents (e.g., footnotes) are clearly identified.
6. Written content is free of spelling or grammatical errors.

V. Structure

1. All top-level sections, or major parts, of the site are accessible from the homepage.
2. The layout is clear, with content well organized and structured for scanning.
3. Header elements are used to convey document structure.
4. Unique and descriptive headings, lists, and typographical emphasis are used for words or sections the unit wishes to highlight.
5. Important items are placed above the 'fold.'
6. Navigation menus are consistently placed.
7. Clear category labels are used.
8. There is a logical tab order through links, form controls, and objects, and tabs work within forms.
9. Pages use print CSS statements to enable proper printing.
10. Documents are organized so they may be read without style sheets, and information can still be accessed if the user changes the text and background colors.
11. Tables are not used for layout unless the table makes sense when linearized.
12. Row and column headers are identified in data tables.
13. If frames are used, they are titled with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation.
14. If frames are used, meaningful, useful noframes content is provided.

VI. Links

1. Links are easy to locate/identify; consistent and accessible colors/style are used for links and visited links.
2. There is a clear indication of the current location (e.g., breadcrumbs).
3. Clickable target areas are not small.
4. Pop-ups or other windows do not appear, and the current window is not changed without informing the user.
5. Users are not directed into pages that have no navigational options.
6. Links correspond to headings of the pages to which they refer.
7. Text, rather than a graphic, is used for links, and the same link text format is provided on the same page.
8. Links point directly to the information requested (i.e., specific information is not linked to broad information that then requires the user to relocate the specific information on the linked page).
9. Error messages are easy to notice and provide a suggested remedy.
10. Users are informed of download file size and format (e.g., 65KB, PDF).
11. If information is provided in PDF format, the same information is provided in an alternative, accessible format (e.g. HTML or text) and/or links to the Access Adobe website are offered.
12. Pages are usable when scripts, applets, or other programmatic objects are turned off or not supported (amongst other things, this means not relying on JavaScript).
13. There are no broken or missing links, images, elements or e-mail addresses.
14. The target element of each link is clearly identified.
15. All links are updated to reflect the most current URL, with any redirects implemented on the server-side.

VII. Visual Elements

1. If imagery/photography is used, dynamic, action-oriented images that are of a professional quality and follow university photography guidelines are selected, where possible.
2. HTML allows two types of image maps: client-side (the user's browser processes a URI) and server-side (the server processes click coordinates). If possible, client-side image maps are provided instead of server-side image maps. If img is used to insert the image, an alternative list of links is provided after it, indicating the existence and location of the alternative list (via the alt tag attribute).
3. Provide text links for each active region of an image map.
4. A text equivalent is provided for every non-text element (i.e., alt tag, or description of image/multimedia).
5. Auditory descriptions of the important information in the visual tracks of multimedia presentations are provided.
6. Multimedia elements contain equivalent alternatives (e.g. captions or auditory descriptions of the visual track) that are synchronized with the presentation.
7. Equivalents for dynamic content are updated when the dynamic content changes.

VIII. Coding

1. Page download time is minimal (preferably < 100K); images and tables are optimized.
2. (X)HTML validates without serious warnings or errors.
3. DOCTYPE statement is the first line of the (X)HTML.
4. Search results are usable, and clear, descriptive and unique page titles are provided to aid users in orienting themselves within the site.
5. Relative (ems) rather than absolute units (points or pixels) are used in markup language; information can still be accessed if the user changes the font size.
6. Periodically auto-refreshing pages (meta-refresh) are not used.
7. The label is properly positioned for all form controls with implicitly associated labels.
8. The screen is not coded to flicker (blink and marquee). A flickering or flashing screen may cause seizures in users with photosensitive epilepsy.