Creating accessible websites involves the work of designers, developers and content editors — each playing an important role in the process. Below are some steps that can be followed to improve the accessibility of a new or existing website.

Step 1: Learn about digital accessibility basics

If you're unfamiliar with digital accessibility, start by reviewing the Getting Started with Digital Accessibility section of this site. That section provides an introduction to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, its core principles and best practices for commonly used elements in digital content (headings, links, lists, images, tables, etc.).

Step 2: Remove or archive unneeded web content

If there is content on your site that is no longer needed, consider removing or archiving the content. Archived content can be exempt from accessibility compliance if all of the following conditions are met:

  • The content is not used for a current program, service or activity; archived web content can only be used for reference, research, or record keeping.
  • The content was created before April 24, 2026 and will not be altered or updated after the date of archiving.
  • The content is stored in a special area for archived content and is clearly marked as 'archived'.

Step 3: Use the Illinois Web Theme

The Illinois Web Theme is an Illinois-branded theme that is actively developed by the Web Implementation Guidelines Group. The theme and its components are continuously evaluated for accessibility and adhere to the campus brand guidelines. The theme is available for both the WordPress and Drupal content management systems. If you are a developer using a different system, the underlying web components used in the theme are made available through the web toolkit. If you are developing a web application, supplemental components have been made available by the Application Development UX/UI Standards Workgroup. 

Step 4: Check the website for accessibility

Checking a website for accessibility is a multi-step process that will typically involve the use of accessibility checking tools, keyboard testing and a manual review. The Easy Checks – A First Review of Web Accessibility pages from the W3C provide an introduction on how to do basic checking. See the Digital Accessibility Tools and Resources page for more information about tools that can help check web content.

Questions to ask

When reviewing a site for accessibility, consider the questions below:

  • Is the site using headers correctly (H1-H6 tags used in hierarchical, sequential order; no more than two h1 tags; and header tags denote section titles)?
  • Can keyboard-only users see where the tab key has moved (visual focus)?
  • Does the tab key move in a logical order (tab order)?
  • Can they interact with the webpage (operation)?
  • Do form fields announce themselves to assistive technology (screen readers)?
  • Is the webpage clearly divided into logical sections (banner, navigation, main content, side content and footer)?
  • Is the color contrast for text adequate for low vision and color blind users?
  • Is color alone being used to designate a status (shapes and patterns should also be used)?
  • Does link text make sense when removed from its context (link text must be descriptive:  no “click here”)?

Step 5: Fix accessibility issues

The method for fixing an accessibility issue will differ depending on where the issue is located. If the issue pertains to the content of the page, typically added through a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor, a content editor for the site can likely fix the issue by updating the content in the editor itself. If the issue pertains to the underlying code used for the site's theme, plugins, etc., a developer will need to fix the issue by updating the code.

Some automated accessibility checkers will provide links to remediation help pages that are specific to the issues found on a page. For example, the 'axe DevTools' browser extension and the 'Lighthouse' tool built into Chrome will link to pages on the Deque University website, e.g. Deque University: images must have alternate text. Resources like these can be helpful when determining the best way fix an issue.