Your website must meet WCAG 2.1 AA
If you own or manage a UCLA website: a departmental site, a lab page, a program page, an event site, or any other UCLA web presence, it must meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard. This applies to all UCLA websites, including pages behind a login.
You don't need to be a developer to make meaningful progress. Most accessibility issues on UCLA websites come down to a handful of content practices that any editor can address.
The most common issues to fix
- Alt text on images: Every image needs descriptive alt text that conveys its meaning: not "image" or "photo," but what the image actually communicates. Purely decorative images should have an empty alt attribute so screen readers skip them.
- Heading structure: Use headings (H1, H2, H3) in logical order to organize your page, not to make text look bigger. A page with a clear heading structure is easier for everyone to navigate, and essential for screen reader users who use headings to scan content.
- Descriptive link text: Links should describe where they go. "Click here," "read more," and "learn more" are not sufficient: a screen reader user navigating by links alone has no context for what those phrases mean. Use text that makes sense on its own, like "Web Accessibility Starter Guide" or "View upcoming DCP events."
- Color contrast: Text must have sufficient contrast against its background. This affects users with low vision and anyone reading in bright light. The minimum contrast ratio for normal text under WCAG 2.1 AA is 4.5:1.
- Captions and transcripts: Videos with audio require synchronized captions. Audio content requires transcripts. This applies to recorded lectures, promotional videos, event recordings, and any other multimedia your site hosts or links to.
- Form labels Every form field needs a visible, associated label. Placeholder text inside a field is not a label: it disappears when someone starts typing.
Scan your site first
Before you start fixing things, scan your site to understand where issues are and how severe they are. SiteImprove is available to all UCLA units at no cost and provides automated scanning with prioritized issue tracking across your entire site. It won't catch everything: automated tools detect roughly 30% of potential accessibility issues; but it's the right starting point.
Over 800 UCLA sites are already enrolled. Check whether yours is one of them, or enroll today.
UCLA standards and brand guidance
UCLA's brand guidelines include accessibility requirements for web design, covering color usage, typography, contrast, and page structure. If you're building or rebuilding a site, these are your starting point alongside WCAG.
Go deeper
Ready to move beyond the basics? DCP's Web Accessibility Starter Guide covers the full set of content editor requirements in plain language, with examples.
DCP also offers free training on accessibility topics including Digital Accessibility Basics, Testing Basics, and Introduction to SiteImprove.
Need a consultation?
If you're not sure where to start, or you've scanned your site and need help interpreting the results, DCP offers consultation support for UCLA departments.
