Topics Map > Accessibility
Canvas Usability/Accessibility Design Checklist
- Color Guidelines
- Body Text Formatting Guidelines
- Canvas Heading Guidelines
- Course Navigation Recommendations
- Course Organization & Module Recommendations
- Writing Guidelines
- File Naming Guidelines
- Link Guidelines
- Image Guidelines
- Video Guidelines
- Zoom Guidelines
- Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and PDF Accessibility
- Tools to Review Your Course
Color Guidelines
Text Color
- All text should be in high-contrast colors (e.g., dark text on a white background. No pastel or neon).
- Do not color-code course elements as the only way of conveying meaning.
Link Color
- Links should be underlined by default. Note that only links should be underlined.
- If links are not underlined, there must be a 3:1 contrast between the color of the link and the surrounding body text.
Body Text Formatting Guidelines
Font Type
Fonts are sans serif (e.g., Trebuchet, Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica). In online environments, sans-serif fonts have a slightly higher readability than serif fonts such as Times New Roman.
Note: The default font in the Canvas Rich Content Editor (RCE) is sans serif.
Font Size
While it is not required, we recommend that the font size of body text should be at least 12 pts (body text is the regular text in paragraphs, bullet points, and numbered lists).
Note: The default font size in the Canvas RCE is 12 pts.
Underlined Text
Underlining is used only for hyperlinks. Example: Read more about link conventions.
Do not underline text for emphasis. Underlining text implies it is a link. Use bold to emphasize text.
Canvas Heading Guidelines
Headings Used Where Appropriate
Meaningful headings and subheadings clearly identify information to make it easy to visually scan for sighted readers and easy to locate information for people who use screen readers.
Longer Canvas pages, announcements, assignment instructions, discussion prompts, etc., should use headings and subheadings to organize content and make it easy to scan visually or with screen readers.
Heading Hierarchy
The hierarchy of accessible headings is important for ensuring content is well-organized and easy to navigate, especially for users relying on assistive technologies like screen readers. Headings should be used in a logical, nested order without skipping levels. Apply the Canvas heading styles to headings and subheadings as follows:
- Heading 2 - Use heading 2 for the primary sections of your document to divide your content into major categories or themes. E.g., National Parks of the United States
- Heading 3 - Use heading 3 for subsections within a heading 2 section. E.g., Western Region National Parks
- Heading 4 - Use heading 4 for subtopics within a heading 3 topic. E.g., Yosemite National Park
Heading Formatting
Headings are sans-serif fonts that are large size with high-contrast colors. Apply the Canvas heading styles to format your heading text with an accessible font, color, and size. Note that the default settings in the Canvas heading styles are already accessible.
Heading Wording
Headings are succinct and meaningful.
Headings Use Canvas Heading Styles
In order for screen readers to recognize your headings in Canvas pages, announcements, and discussions, you must apply the Canvas heading level formats to your headings in the content editor rather than simply manually making your heading text large and bold.
Video Tutorial - Applying Canvas Heading Styles
Course Navigation Recommendations
Streamline Course Navigation
Hide Canvas navigation items not being used by students to remove clutter and streamline navigation for students. Adding too many paths to the same assignment or resource can confuse students.
Recommendation - In your Canvas course, go to Settings > Navigation and enable the following navigation elements and disable (hide) other navigation elements:
- Announcements (Even when enabled, the eye slash icon appears next to Announcements until you post your first announcement to the class.)
- Grades
- People
- Syllabus (Enable only if you plan to use the Canvas-generated syllabus. Disable if you plan on uploading a syllabus file to a module instead.)
- Collaborations (Enable only if you plan to create collaborative Office 365 documents. in your Canvas class.)
- Zoom
- Search
- Attendance (Enable only if you plan to use the Canvas Roll Call attendance-taking tool.)
Course Organization & Module Recommendations
Module Creation
One module is created for each week, course meeting, topic, or unit of the class – whichever works best for your course.
Module Naming Conventions
For visual and functional consistency, modules and their contents should maintain the same naming conventions and layout throughout the course.
Text Headers in all modules are worded in the same manner and appear in the same order (e.g., Each module might have text headers such as: Topics, Readings, and Homework).
Module Contents
Modules should contain links to all assignments, discussions, quizzes, and resources for the week, unit, etc.
Module items should be clearly labeled with meaningful titles. You can rename module items as necessary.
Do one of the following for modules with a large amount of content:
Text headers should be added to modules to provide context for items, and items are indented under the text header to indicate a hierarchy OR
Links to readings and resources could be moved to a single page in the module to streamline the module’s content.
Module Order
Modules and content in modules should be arranged in a logical order. Assignments in modules should be arranged chronologically, as they will be completed.
Module Publishing
Modules and their items should be published in a consistent way - either all together or on a predictable schedule.
Writing Guidelines
Chunked Content
Sentences and paragraphs are brief and clearly worded. Course content is “chunked” (broken into small paragraphs, sections, and bulleted lists ) for easy scanning.
- Bulleted Lists: Use bulleted lists for items that do not need to follow a specific order. These are ideal for summarizing related points or presenting options.
- Numbered Lists: Use numbered lists for items or steps that must appear in a specific order.
Headings for Organization and Clarity
Meaningful headings and subheadings should be used to organize content by main concepts and provide context to guide readers and to help them scan the content.
File Naming Guidelines
Naming Conventions
Give file titles descriptive and meaningful names, and use consistent naming conventions for your files. Generic wording is confusing to students.
When you add a file to a Canvas module, rename the link to the file to make it more descriptive.
- Example of good file title wording – Reading 1 – Mariana Trench: Earth’s Deepest Place.
- Example of poor file title wording – Marianatrench.pdf.
Consistent Conventions
If you refer to files or assignments in your syllabus, etc., remember to give files and assignments the same name in Canvas modules. For example, if you refer to essay_template in your syllabus, that’s how it should appear in the Canvas module.
Link Guidelines
Link Wording
Create descriptive links that do not rely on the surrounding text for meaning. The link, itself, should convey its purpose and meaning without requiring additional context. For example:
- No - Click here for for more information about the Accessibility Resource Center.
- Yes - Read more about the Accessibility Resource Center.
Note that text for links should not include the URL, itself. For example:
- No - Read more about the Accessibility Resource Center https://uwm.edu/arc/
- No - Read more about the Accessibility Resource Center https://uwm.edu/arc/
- Yes - Read more about the Accessibility Resource Center.
This ensures accessibility for users relying on screen readers and improves usability for everyone.
Link Color & Format
- Links should be underlined by default. Note that only links should be underlined.
- If links are not underlined, there must be a 3:1 contrast between the color of the link and the surrounding body text.
Underlined Text
Underlining should be used only for hyperlinks. Example: Read more about link conventions.
Do not underline text for emphasis. Underlining text implies it is a link. Use bold to emphasize text.
Internal and External Links
- Links to other elements inside your Canvas course should open in the same tab or window.
- Links to elements outside your Canvas course (e.g., websites, links to YouTube videos) should open in a new tab or window.
Image Guidelines
Alt Text to Describe Images
Add an Alt Text description of an image or mark the image as decorative. Screen readers read alt text descriptions to visually impaired students.
- Descriptions should be under 150 characters
- Do not include phrases like "a picture of." They are unnecessary.
Resources
- Alt Decision Tree for help on writing effective alt text.
- Alt text for different kinds of images
- Video Tutorial – Adding Alt Text Descriptions to Images in Canvas
Complex Images
Coming soon!
Video Guidelines
Uploading Your Videos
Videos you have recorded should be uploaded to My Media in Canvas. Uploading a video to My Media will generate automatic captions that can be edited.
Edit My Media Video Captions
While machine-generated captions are automatically generated for videos you upload to My Media, you should review and edit your video captions to correct errors in order to make your videos accessible.
Downloading My Media Video Transcripts
You can optionally download a plain text file of the transcript of your My Media video.
Additional Support
Contact the Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) with video captioning questions.
Zoom Guidelines
Captions for Live Meetings
In Zoom, you can assign a person to type manual captions, or you can enable automated (machine-generated) captions for your live meeting.
Transcription for Cloud Recordings
Enable audio transcriptions for your Zoom cloud recordings.
Interpreter
The Zoom meeting host can enable the following features:
- Language Interpretation – Allows host to assign language interpreters. Interpreters will have their own audio channels in the Zoom meeting for the language they are translating to.
- Sign Language Interpretation View - Allows hosts to assign users as sign language interpreters. Sign language interpreters are shown in dedicated video channels that are pinned and spotlighted.
Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and PDF Accessibility
The following are resources for determining if the files you upload to your Canvas class are accessible:
Tools to Review Your Course
View Your Course as a Student
Review your Canvas course as a test student with Student View.
Scan for Broken Links
Check your course for broken links with Link Validator.
Use UDOIT and the Canvas Accessibility Checker
Check your course for accessibility problems with UDOIT and the Canvas Accessibility Checker.
Important: These tools are guides, not certifications. They check for common accessibility issues but are not comprehensive. If they do not find accessibility issues, it does not guarantee full accessibility, and the tools may also flag potential issues that are not actually accessibility problems. Additionally, these tools do not scan the contents of your videos or resource files.