Design to Comply with WCAG Standards 

Section 508 of Americans with Disabilities Act 

 

All AMN Healthcare Language Services software and applications are designed to comply with standards addressing information and communication technology (ICT) under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 255 of the Communications Act. 

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is developed through the W3C process in cooperation with individuals and organizations around the world, with a goal of providing a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally.​ (WCAG 2 Overview, 2023)​ 

 

The core principles that guide WCAG include: 

  • Perceivable: You want users to have the ability to perceive all the information that appears on your site, like text, images, video, and more. Even if a user can’t see your website’s text or listen to your website’s video, you need to provide an alternative. 
  • Operable: You want users to have the capability to navigate your site and use all its features. Any user, for example, should have the means to use your main navigation, as well as any site tools, like calculators. 
  • Understandable: You want users to have the means to understand your website content. That means users can understand your site’s text, images, videos, and tools. For example, your site may include instructions for using a feature, like a calculator or a contact form. 
  • Robust: You want users to have the ability to receive the same experience, even if using assistive technologies.  

Category 

Rule 

Action Item 

Design to Comply 

Captions 

For all live video, provide captions. You can add captions to your live videos using software or professional services. 

Design to Comply, Where Required 

Audio descriptions 

Provide audio descriptions for all pre-recorded content. You can also add a link near the content that directs users to your audio description. 

Design to Comply 

Contrast ratio 

Maintain a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for text and images of text. Exceptions include large text or images of large text, logotypes, or incidental text or images of text. 

Design to Comply 

Text resizing 

Allow users to resize site text (without any assistive technology) up to 200%. The resize must not cause a loss of content or site functionality. This ADA compliance item does not apply to captions or images of text. 

Design to Comply 

Images of text 

Avoid using images that feature mostly text to convey your content unless users can customize the image, or the image is essential. If you want to use these kinds of images, like for pull quotes, substitute them using CSS, which can stylize text. 

Design to Comply 

Navigation options 

Offer users more than one option for locating a page on your site, unless that page is the result or step in a process, like completing an online checkout. Adding an HTML sitemap, site search, and consistent navigation menu can help you accomplish this to-do. 

Design to Comply 

Headings and labels 

Use headings or labels to describe the topic or purpose of content. Aim for descriptive and straightforward labels or headings. You should also label all site elements, like a pricing table or contact form. 

Design to Comply 

Focus visible 

Anyone accessing your site with a keyboard should have the ability to see the keyboard focus indicator — or the outline that appears on a form field — on-site elements like links, form fields, and menus. Add this feature to your website with CSS. 

Design to Comply, When Required 

Language 

For any website content that isn’t in your default language, add a language attribute to the page. A site that uses English, for instance, may add a language attribute for a page with content in French. 

Design to Comply 

Navigation consistency 

Provide a consistent navigation location and organization for users. Your navigation menu, for instance, should always appear in the same spot (like the left-hand side) and with the same menu items. 

Design to Comply 

Identification consistency 

Site elements with the same function should have consistent identification. You can label and name these elements, for example, and use identical alt text for elements with the same purpose. 

Design to Comply 

Error suggestion 

Offer users suggestions for fixing input errors, like the format of a phone number in a contact form. You can provide correction recommendations via text. 

Not Applicable 

Error prevention 

Any pages that generate legal commitments or financial transactions, modify or delete user-controlled data, or submit user test responses must be reversible, checked for errors, and confirmed before submission. Create an order confirmation page, for example, or allow users to cancel orders within a specific period.