accessibility

“Read More” about what? Why link context matters

daniel.zhang@mcgill.ca — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 20:14:59 +0000

Clarity is key when creating content for the web, yet vague link phrases such as “read more” or “learn more” remain common across websites and newsletters. While they may seem harmless, they create real barriers for accessibility.

How we can make our digital spaces more accessible: Advice from an expert

joyce.peralta2@mcgill.ca — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 15:26:27 +0000

We had the recent pleasure of welcoming Lucy Greco—renowned digital accessibility expert, advocate, and trailblazer—for an engaging session on creating accessible digital content. Co-hosted by the Digital Communications team and ��ñ��’s Equity team, the event offered a valuable opportunity to learn from Lucy’s expertise and explore practical ways to enhance digital accessibility across our platforms.

Watch party! Accessible and equitable AI in post-secondary education

joyce.peralta2@mcgill.ca — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 16:12:29 +0000

We’re pleased to invite members of the ��ñ�� community to a lunch-hour online presentation about accessible and equitable AI in post-secondary education.

Find out what artificial intelligence (AI) reveals and what it obscures, especially for people with disabilities. We will also explore the intersection of AI, inclusion and accessibility and consider opportunities for automation and assistive technologies to remove barriers for people with disabilities.

Watch your language! Use plain language to create better websites

joyce.peralta2@mcgill.ca — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 19:02:29 +0000

��ñ��'s websites must be accessible to all audiences. Our provincial government has made this a requirement. It's also simply the right thing to do.

An important part of web accessibility compliance is using plain language - presenting text that is readable and understandable (see Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Guideline 3.1).

Using plain language also improves:

What’s up doc? Creating accessible documents for your website

andrew.collier@mcgill.ca — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 17:42:08 +0000

Hands up if you were asked to do a manual check

Communications Huddle: Web accessibility at ��ñ�� presentation recording

Daniel Zhang — Tue, 24 May 2022 05:52:46 +0000

Our Communications Huddle presentation featured:

An overview of key accessibility requirements outlined in the SGQRI 008 2.0
Information on related resources, tools and training courses
Where to find support if you have questions or need assistance

Where to get help with web accessibility updates

joyce.peralta2@mcgill.ca — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 17:35:43 +0000

As of July 2022, ��ñ��'s websites must meet web accessibility requirements outlined by the Government of Quebec in the Standard sur l'accessibilité des sites Web (SGQRI 008 2.0). Here are some resources to help you prepare:

Hands-on support

If you’re looking for hands-on support for meeting web accessibility requirements, you’ve got a few options:

New Web Services course: WS 106 : Web Accessibility

Simon Labonne — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 17:36:07 +0000

On July 17, 2018, the Gouvernement du Québec released a new web accessibility standard, the Standard sur l'accessibilité des sites Web (SGQRI 008 2.0), replacing the 2011 standards: SGQRI 008-01, SGQRI 008-02, and SGQRI 008-03.

Accessibility checklist for custom or vendor-built websites

joyce.peralta2@mcgill.ca — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 16:56:13 +0000

When choosing to build a custom or vendor-built website (e.g. on ��ñ��'s Virtual Host platform) you are accepting responsibility for compliance with all legal and institutional requirements. Any site managers you nominate will be accountable to you concerning compliance with the digital standards and other requirements.

Editoria11y tip: Are yellow alerts driving you bananas?

joyce.peralta2@mcgill.ca — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 20:02:31 +0000

As a WMS site manager or editor, you're probably familiar with the Editoria11y accessibility checker. This handy tool automatically highlights items that may present accessibility issues on your web pages.

The steps to addressing and removing red alerts are pretty straightforward. Simply follow the directions displayed in the alert, save and publish the web page. Et voilà! The alert should be gone. But what about those yellow alerts?

Web accessibility audit blitz results

Brianna Emmily Klint, Daniel Zhang — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 13:17:18 +0000

The importance of accessibility

At ��ñ�� we aim to create an accessible, diverse, and inclusive campus, and this includes our digital spaces.

To guarantee that any and all users have a positive experience while interacting with your website, make sure to:

An audit opportunity you won't want to miss!

joyce.peralta2@mcgill.ca — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 17:47:40 +0000

Do you know if your site meets the Quebec Government's web accessibility standards? This summer, we're putting together a web accessibility team to perform an audit blitz on a select number of WMS websites. The team will be staffed by work study students and overseen by Digital Communications.

Website accessibility in Quebec – Legal requirements at a glance

Rachel Desjourdy — Fri, 28 May 2021 20:03:33 +0000

This article, published in 2021, provides an overview of legal requirements for website accessibility in Quebec. In 2024, these requirements were augmented by changes introduced when the Standard sur l’accessibilité des sites Web (SGQRI 008 3.0) was published.

Web Services Digest, May 2021

nadia.kovaleva@mcgill.ca — Thu, 13 May 2021 19:04:16 +0000

We’re pleased to announce in this edition of the Digest a number of new features and updates. ��ñ��'s new virtual tour platform is live and fully integrated with the WMS. Could you benefit from a Flintbox integration? Try our new automated bilingual test to spot non-descriptive links on your site.

If you’re creating a new site or rethinking your current one, check our recommendation about an effective menu structure and things to consider when choosing a new domain or URL.

Web Services Digest, March 2021

nadia.kovaleva@mcgill.ca — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 12:27:27 +0000

This edition of the Digest features is pretty special, wondering why? Well, first we've changed the name to 'Web Services Digest' to reflect the collaboration between the WSG and the Digital Comms teams. A new fresh look is coming up this year as well.

However, as always, we cover in the Digest important topics, such as Web Accessibility, mandatory refresher modules for WS-100&WS-101 every 2 years, as well as share some updates about the new Search on mcgill.ca, Disabled menu on WMS, and lots more.