Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Written by
Megan Yoder
OSC Web Team

As everything moves online, making sure your digital content is accessible has never been more important. Everyone, regardless of their abilities, should be able to access and navigate your content easily. Accessibility is no longer optional—it's a fundamental requirement. The U.S. Department of Justice has mandated that all digital content, including websites and apps, must comply with accessibility standards under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act by April 24, 2026. This is not only about legal compliance, it's about making sure that everyone can engage with your content, whether they're using a screen reader, a keyboard, or other assistive technologies. The University of Iowa has created an Accessibility Task Force to help meet these requirements, but how does this impact you? As part of the university’s web community, it’s your responsibility to ensure your department’s or unit's digital content is accessible.

It might sound overwhelming, but don’t worry—it doesn’t have to be. By taking some proactive steps now, you’ll be on the path to ensuring your content is accessible to all. In this article, we will guide you through those steps, explain how to get started, and provide useful resources to help along the way.

Step 1: Identify websites and digital content

One of the most important and effective first steps you can take is identifying the websites and digital content you currently have. This involves cataloging all the digital content you currently have on your website or mobile apps. The goal is to gain a clear picture of your existing content so you can identify where accessibility issues may exist and begin addressing them.

Why it’s important
Identifying websites and digital content helps you track risks, prioritize areas that need attention, and establish best practices for managing your content in the future.

What should you identify?
Here’s a list of the types of content you should review:

  • Web pages: All webpages across your websites.
  • Web applications: All web-based applications you own and manage.
  • Mobile applications: All apps developed by your team.
  • Documents: PDFs, Word documents, and any other downloadable files.
  • Media files: Images, videos, audio files, and other multimedia content.

How to start
To begin, create a spreadsheet to log all the digital content you’re identifying. We’ve provided an Iowa web content identification spreadsheet template here that you can download for your use and includes various fields you can customize to fit your needs. Here’s an overview of what each column might include:

  • Site Title/Name: What is the name of your website or application?
  • Site URL: The homepage URL of the site.
  • Priority: How critical is this content? (Low, Medium, High)
  • CMS/Framework: What platform is this content hosted on? (e.g., SiteNow v3, SharePoint)
  • Development Contact: Who is responsible for the content or its maintenance?
  • Site Owner: The person or department that manages the site.
  • Governing Org: The department or unit that owns the website.
  • SI Score Date: The date you last checked the site’s accessibility score via Siteimprove.
  • SI Compliance Score: Your current score in Siteimprove. 
  • PDFs w/ Issues Identified: The number of PDFs with known accessibility issues (found using Siteimprove).
  • Requires Authentication: Does the content require users to log in (e.g., HawkID)?
  • Accessibility Review Date: When was the site last reviewed for accessibility?
  • Accessibility Reviewer: The person who conducted the review.
  • Inventory Notes: Any additional notes, such as content management changes or issues that need further attention.
  • Accessibility Review Notes: Details on specific accessibility issues identified during the review.
  • Critical for Job/Health/Opportunities: Is this website/web experience required for someone to do their job, complete a course, stay safe, maintain health, or access an opportunity? If so, note that here. 

This identification process should be a living document, updated regularly as content changes, is added, or is removed. It’s a team effort, so be sure to engage with colleagues and stakeholders across your department to ensure the process is comprehensive. We also recommend conducting a content inventory and/or content audit, which involves reviewing your content on a page-by-page basis. You can find more information about this process here and here. 

Step 2: Ensure new content is accessible

It’s crucial that any new content you create meets accessibility standards right from the start. When developing new content—whether it's a webpage, document, or media file—add it to your spreadsheet and ensure it follows accessibility best practices. Don’t wait until later to address these issues; being proactive now will save you time and effort in the long run. 

Step 3: Explore additional resources

Here are some helpful resources to guide your accessibility efforts:

Ensuring compliance with Title II is crucial and required for our university. As we continue to work through this process, we’ll provide more details to you and your unit about what to do next to fix inaccessible content and how to move forward. For now, these steps are a great place to start. By following through, you’ll be helping to ensure that the university remains accessible to all and advancing the University of Iowa’s goal of creating a respectful and inclusive space for all members of the Hawkeye community.