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Reminder: Web Accessibility Compliance Law in effect

The new Colorado accessibility law, HB21-1110, affects university websites and went into effect July 1, 2024. This means that university website owners/content managers must ensure your website content meets the minimum web accessibility standards.

Learn how to meet accessibility standards

Launch Checklist


When your site build gets close to the finish line, we will need to plan the site launch. Review the checklist below and reach out with questions via Open Lab or websitehelp@ucdenver.edu

1

Schedule your website launch

Pick a launch timeframe and work with the CMS team to schedule the specific launch date. We schedule launches 2-4 weeks out and typically launch websites every other Wednesday morning.
2

Check your website's navigation

Click through your website to be sure the navigation is consistent. Primary navigation should display the same throughout your website and whether you are using side navigation, breadcrumbs or both, there should be consistency on the child pages. Sign up for an Open Lab if you need help or advice!
3

Make sure each page has an H1

H1 Headers are important both for accessibility and search engine optimization (SEO). Each page throughout your website should have one H1 Heading that is a short, descriptive title of the page. These can be added in Hero Images or in a Content Block on the page. Learn more about accessible headers.
4

Check that all headers are in ranking order

Headers on each page should be in ranking order, starting with H1 and then moving to H2, H3 and so on depending on your content. They should not skip from H1 to H5. If you find yourself using a header for styling, instead use paragraph text and change the size from the inherited size to the desired font size in the Content Block. Learn more about accessible headers.
5

Add alternative text to all images

As you add images to your website, you must add alternative text for each image. Alternative text should be a description of what is seen in the photo (ex. Nursing Student on Anschutz Campus). If you need to go back and add alternative text to an image, select the option on the image to "Edit properties". Learn about accessible images and alt text.
6

Test your links and check that they are descriptive

All links should be working on the website and the text should be descriptive of where the link will take the user. Please refrain from using “Click here” and “Read more” links as these do not have enough context for the user. Learn more about accessible links.
7

Complete page descriptions and keywords for each page

Add page descriptions and keywords in Title & Properties for each page. Page descriptions help Google know what your page is about. They help your site's SEO and support users in finding the content on your website that is relevant to their search. Learn about setting up pages.
8

Publish all pages on your website

Publish all pages on your website that you want to go live with your website launch. If there are any pages that aren't ready for launch, please unpublish them.
9

Get stakeholder approval on content

Be sure stakeholders have seen and approved the content on your new website. Anyone that needs access to edit the website will need to complete Sitefinity Training. If stakeholders just need to view the website before launch, submit a request to websitehelp@ucdenver.edu so that we can grant them Site Shield access before the website is live.
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