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Purpose:
This article introduces what is digital accessibility and provides a step-by-step process for reviewing, documenting, and remediating accessibility issues across websites and digital content, including documents, media, and internal resources. It includes required reports, templates, checklists, tools, training resources, and support links.
The information and process below is created to support the following:
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Website owners and managers
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Content creators and editors
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Social media managers
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Video and multimedia producers
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SharePoint site owners
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Research and communications staff
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Anyone that creates content to share and publish on internal and external sites
What is digital accessibility
Digital accessibility is about making websites, apps, documents, and other digital tools usable by everyone, including people with disabilities. That means designing and building digital content so people can navigate, understand, and interact with it whether they use screen readers, keyboards, voice commands, captions, or other assistive technologies.
Accessible design removes barriers, improves usability for all users, and helps ensure equal access to information and services online.
Watch the What is Digital Accessibility? video
Before You Begin (Prerequisites)
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Access to your website or content repository
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Ability to download reports from IT
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Permission to update or remediate content
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Access to Microsoft Teams and SharePoint
Step 1: Request Accessibility Reports from IT
Goal: Identify known accessibility issues.
Action:
What You’ll Receive:
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Summary of issues
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Affected pages or assets
Step 2: Download the Remediation Plan Template
Goal: Track and document fixes consistently.
Download Digital Accessibility Remediation Plan - Log Template to get started
Note: Template Created by COLTT member: Jessica Sanchez
Use this template to log:
Step 3: Download Accessibility Checklists
Goal: Ensure consistent reviews across content types.
Primary Checklist
Step 4: Review Your Content Using the Checklists
Goal: Identify and log issues by content type.
Review each applicable content type and document findings in your remediation plan.
Content Types to Review
Watch the Web Accessibility Perspectives Video to have a better understanding of the importance of making digital content accessible.
Step 5: Use Accessibility Checker Tools
Goal: Validate issues and confirm fixes before republishing.
Recommended Browser Plug In Tools
Browser Accessibility Plug In Extension Tools
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SiteImprove Accessiblity Checker free browser extension to scan web pages for accessibility issues.
How to use: Install the plug in, go to the page you want scan, click on the icon.
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Level Access Browser Extension free browser extension to scan web pages for accessibility issues.
How to use: Install the plug in, go to the page you want scan, click on the icon.
Built-In Software Accessibility Tools
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Microsoft Accessibility Checker
How to use: Built into Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and PDFs
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Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Checker
How to use: Use Adobe Acrobat Pro to run a full accessibility check on PDFs, identify issues such as missing tags, reading order problems, and document structure errors, and apply fixes directly within the tool.
Step 6: Training Resources by Content Type
Goal: Help users fix issues correctly.
Web Content
Training link(s):
Documents (PDF, Word, PowerPoint)
Training link(s):
Videos & Multimedia
Training link(s):
Social Media
Training link(s):
Brightspace (LMS) – Faculty Training Resources
These are the official UTRGV-supported training materials for online course instruction:
Step 7: Get Help and Support
Support Community
Additional Help
Related Articles / Resources
Watch the Introduction to Web Accessibility and W3C Standards Video