Sometimes, MDTAP is asked, “What are the guidelines for making websites accessible?” The “official” guidelines for Maryland websites can be found in two regulations – the Maryland Information Technology Nonvisual Access Regulations, or IT NVA, (COMAR 14.33.02.01-12) and the federal Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (36 CFR 1194.22.). Maryland Nonvisual Access Policy applies to organizations that receive State funding, and Section 508 applies to organizations that receive Federal funding. Private organizations will find these guidelines helpful for ensuring that their websites are accessible to all potential visitors and customers.
Both of these regulations give very broad guidelines as to what basic accessibility features should be included in the sites. Essentially, Maryland adopted its Nonvisual Access Regulation from Section 508, so the standards are essentially the same. Both the federal government and the state government provide additional information on how to meet these basic standards –
Section 508 Standards Summary (from the Federal government) http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?fuseAction=stdsSum
Nonvisual Access Standards (from the MD Department of Information Technology) http://doit.maryland.gov/policies/Pages/NVAGuidance.aspx
There are a number of organizations that provide more comprehensive guidance on how to make websites accessible. A web accessibility company called WebAIM provides a checklist for 508 compliance that many find to be very useful: http://webaim.org/standards/508/checklist
There are also the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) created by W3C, which many use in addition to, or instead of, Section 508 guidelines. These are more comprehensive than Section 508. WCAG 2.0 offers guidelines for achieving different levels of accessibility — your website can be at Level A (most basic accessibility), Level AA (medium accessibility), or Level AAA (highest level of accessibility).
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 from W3C http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/
WebAIM also provides a checklist for compliance with WCAG 2.0 standards as well: http://webaim.org/standards/wcag/checklist
If you are interested in the comparison between Section 508 and WCAG 2.0, they are compared here:
Mapping Section 508 on WCAG 2.0\Level A: http://www.csulb.edu/~wed/public/EqEffAcc/
