Maintaining a Clean, Organized, Accessible Website
Keep Content Current, Clear, and Easy to Use
Maintaining a well-organized website is an ongoing practice, not a one-time task. Regular review of content helps visitors find the information they need, keeps resources accurate, improves site performance, and ensures accessibility for everyone.
By keeping our site tidy, we make it easier to navigate and maintain a professional, trustworthy digital presence. Here’s what to focus on during regular website maintenance:
Regular Website Cleaning Includes Accessibility Review
It’s best practice to check and fix accessibility issues consistently, and you can learn more by jumping to:
Tasks Web Editing Staff Can Complete Independently
Locate older drafts
- In the Pages or Posts area of website, filter or review items with Draft status.
- Identify drafts that are more than two years old.
- Example: In 2026, review drafts from 2024 and earlier.
Evaluate each draft
- Determine whether the content is still relevant or needed.
Choose the appropriate action
- Delete drafts that are no longer useful or related to projects that never launched.
- Update and publish drafts that contain valuable information that should be live on the website.
Do not use drafts as an archive
- Drafts should not be used to store old or unused content long-term.
Consult the Extension Web Team when needed
- If draft content needs to be saved for future use, archived, or re-published later, schedule time with the Extension Web Team to determine the best way to store or manage it.
Locate outdated Events
- In the Events section of the website, filter or review items to find posts to identify Event posts that are more than a year old.
- Example: In 2026, review Events that were posted from 2025 and earlier.
- Confirm the event has already occurred and is no longer needed on the site.
Choose the appropriate action
- Remove outdated events that are no longer relevant.
- Archive important past events elsewhere (copy/paste relevant information onto a Word or Google doc and store appropriately) if the information needs to be preserved.
- Check for duplicate listings, especially for annual events, and ensure that only the current event listing remains, so outdated events do not appear in search results and confuse visitors.
Coordinate and Clean with the Extension Web Team
Locate Outdated or Unneeded Events
- Review all Resource files associated with your program, county or pages you’ve managed (PDFs, Word documents, Excel files, etc.).
- Identify documents that may be outdated, duplicated, or no longer needed.
- Make a list of files that need review and note whether they should be updated, replaced, archived, or removed.
- Schedule time with the Extension Web Team to review the list and determine next steps.
- Work with the Web Team before removing files to ensure links on other pages or websites are not broken when Resources are removed.
- Update, replace, or archive important materials so users can still access current and accurate information, overwriting existing with an ADA-compliant document rather than adding in a separate resource so that the link remains the same where it appears on the website.
Schedule a Meeting with Us
If you have questions primarily related to your programmatic or county resources and documents’ accessibility, please submit your request to meet or question using the form, indicating “Website Help” on the Extension Communications and Marketing: Submit a Request page.
- Our team will follow up within 48 hours.
- You will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your request. Reply to that email if you need to add updates or provide additional information.
If you have documents (PDFs, Word files, Excel files, etc.) that are currently posted directly in the Media Library instead of in Resources, please review them using the same checklist used for Resources.
Note which files may be outdated and can be deleted, and which should be moved into the Resources section. All documents must be remediated for accessibility and moved to Resources before the transition to the document storage platform, SharePoint.
For several years, the standard practice has been to publish documents through Resources rather than linking directly to the Media Library.
Please work with the Extension Web Team before removing or moving files so we can ensure links across the website are updated and do not break.
Locate outdated Events
- In the Events section of the website, filter or review items to find posts to identify Event posts that are more than a year old.
- Example: In 2026, review Events that were posted from 2025 and earlier.
- Confirm the event has already occurred and is no longer needed on the site.
Choose the appropriate action
- Remove outdated events that are no longer relevant.
- Archive important past events elsewhere (copy/paste relevant information onto a Word or Google doc and store appropriately) if the information needs to be preserved.
- Check for duplicate listings, especially for annual events, and ensure that only the current event listing remains, so outdated events do not appear in search results and confuse visitors.
Schedule a Meeting with Us
If you have questions related to moving your programmatic or county resources and documents, please submit your request to meet or question using the form, indicating “Website Help” on the Extension Communications and Marketing: Submit a Request page.
- Our team will follow up within 48 hours.
- You will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your request. Reply to that email if you need to add updates or provide additional information.
Build Accessibility In: Don’t Wait for Deadlines
Accessibility remediation should be an ongoing part of maintaining your website, not something we only address when required by a deadline or audit. Regularly reviewing and improving accessibility helps ensure that all users can navigate and engage with our content, while also preventing larger, more time-consuming fixes later on.
The Extension Web Team can provide accessibility scan reports to help identify issues. Staff who are interested in incorporating scans into their regular site “cleaning” routines are encouraged to reach out to the team to learn more or arrange training.
Taking a proactive approach allows you to catch and fix common issues early. Below are examples of areas staff can address on their own, along with others that may require collaboration with the Web Team.
Tasks Web Editing Staff Can Complete Independently
Checklist
- Locate images without ALT text: Use the accessibility scan report provided to locate each image, either through the Media Library or by using the URL of the page where the image appears (included in the report).
- Use the Media Library to trace image placement: Open the image in the Media Library to view the file details. Use the provided URL to navigate to the page where the image is currently used (this is typically the original placement).
- Before you remediate, determine if the image is still needed: Check whether the image is current and relevant:
- Does it appear on multiple pages? (The scan report will indicate this.)
- Is the content outdated?
- Does it feature staff or participants no longer affiliated with Extension?
- Decide whether to keep or remove the image: If the image is no longer appropriate, remove it from the page (do not delete it from the Media Library). If you would like the image permanently removed from the Media Library, contact the Extension Web Team and provide a list of the files to be deleted.
- Review images in photo galleries: Apply the same decision-making process to images within galleries on any page flagged for ALT text remediation.
- Save ALT text in the Media Library: If the image will remain in use, add or update the ALT text in the Media Library. After saving, refresh your dashboard and re-open the image to confirm the ALT text has been properly saved.
- Reinsert the image on the page: Go to the page where the image appears:
- Remove the existing image block
- Re-add (re-import) the image from the Media Library
- Double-click or open block settings to confirm the ALT text is applied correctly
Write Clear, Purposeful ALT Text
- Keep descriptions concise (typically 5–15 words)
- Focus on the purpose of the image, not every detail
- Avoid phrases like “image of” or “picture of”
For simple images (photos or illustrations):
- Describe the main subject and action
- Example: “Extension educator demonstrating soil testing”
For graphics with embedded text:
- Include the key message or visible text
- Ensure the same information is also available in nearby page content
For logos:
- Use the organization or program name only
- Example: “University of Maine Cooperative Extension logo”
For infographics or complex visuals:
- Add a more detailed explanation (without mention of artwork in graphic) within the caption of the graphic or on page content if needed
- Provide a reference to the caption or content on the page in ALT text field
- For example: “Refer to the caption for full descriptive text of this infographic.”
Avoid overly long ALT text
- If the description becomes more than a sentence or two, move additional detail into the main page content.
- Simply put: let an image be an image—avoid posting graphics of fliers on a page. Instead of uploading a flier as an image, move that content into the main page so it is fully accessible and easier to read.
Mark decorative images appropriately
- If an image does not add meaning, leave ALT text empty (null ALT) so screen readers skip it.
Checklist
- Review scan report for heading issues: Locate pages flagged for heading structure or formatting issues (e.g., skipped heading levels, improper use of bold text instead of headers)
- Open the page(s) identified in the report: Use the provided URLs to navigate directly to the affected pages in the CMS.
- Scan the page structure visually: Look for common issues such as:
- Bolded text used as a “header” instead of an actual heading block
- Headings out of order (e.g., jumping from H2 to H4)
- Missing section breaks or unclear content organization
Remediate Heading Structure and Formatting
- Apply proper heading styles: Replace bolded paragraph text with the appropriate heading block (H3, H4, etc.) using built-in styles.
- Follow a logical heading hierarchy
- H1 = Banner header (already built in)
- H2 = Page or Post Title (already set)
- H3 = Start page content here
- H4 = Subsections under H3
- H5 = As needed for deeper structure
- Repeat structure as needed (return to H3 for new sections)
- Avoid skipping heading levels: Ensure headings progress in order (H3 → H4 → H5), without jumping levels.
- Break up long sections of text: Use headings to organize content into clear, scannable sections.
Heading Accessibility Tips
- Start every new page with an H3: Maintain consistent heading levels across all pages.
- Do not use bolded paragraph text for headers: Bolded text isn’t a real header.
- Screen readers rely on proper heading tags to navigate content, so using bold alone reduces accessibility and usability.
- Use regular paragraph text for introductory and body paragraphs: Avoid applying header styles to full paragraphs.
- Doing so doesn’t improve legibility, can confuse screen readers, interferes with search indexing, and doesn’t adjust well on mobile.
- Default fonts and styles are already optimized for accessibility and mobile responsiveness.
- Use header styles as provided: Do not change the color or size. Default styles are built for accessibility and mobile responsiveness.
- Think of headings as an outline: Structure content like a document or presentation, keeping sections focused and clearly labeled. Headings should describe the content that follows.
- Use clear, simple language in headers: Avoid jargon, acronyms, or technical terms when possible. Define new or unfamiliar terms, on the page, clearly and be consistent in terminology throughout the page.
- Avoid true ALL CAPS in headers and body text: Screen readers may read all-caps letter by letter. (UMaine-branded headings on the website styled as uppercase are still accessible. For further explanation, check in with Extension’s Web Team.
- Use underlining only for links: Avoid underlining non-linked headers as well as body copy. Use bold or italics (italics, sparingly) for emphasis instead.
- Build accessibility into your workflow: Apply heading styles and lists correctly when creating or editing content—don’t wait for a scan report to catch issues.
- Re-check after updates: After editing a page, quickly review heading structure, formatting, and text clarity to ensure accessibility and hierarchy remain intact.
Checklist
- Review the scan report for flagged color contrast issues.
- Note areas outside your control (e.g., light gray footer text). Staff do not need to remediate these—UMS-IT will handle them in coordination with the Extension Web Team.
- Identify issues you can address:
- Page text over colored backgrounds
- Section or block backgrounds that make text hard to read
- Tables, charts, or other structured elements with low contrast
- Graphics or images that have poor contrast
Color Contrast Remediation
- Adjust text or background colors to improve contrast.
- Ensure backgrounds are light enough for dark text.
- Avoid large blocks of text over color.
- Only use reversed text (white) over solid dark backgrounds.
- Use a color contrast checker to confirm compliance.
- Stick to UMaine-approved branding colors to maintain consistency and accessibility.
- For tables and other structured elements:
- Ensure text is readable against the background
- Adjust row or cell colors as needed for clarity
- Visit the Plugged In page, How to Make ADA Compliant Tables in WordPress
- For graphics and images:
- Remove non-essential graphics with poor contrast
- For essential graphics, contact the Extension Web Team to coordinate remediation with the correct entity (designer, vendor, etc)
- Document all changes made for future reference and audits.
Tips for Maintaining Color Contrast Accessibility
- Avoid using color alone to convey meaning: Do not rely on color to emphasize or distinguish important information in headers or body text.
- When unsure, default to a white background behind text for maximum contrast.
- Apply fixes consistently across all pages and templates you manage.
- Incorporate accessibility checks into your regular content maintenance workflow, rather than waiting for scan reports.
- Remember, some issues (like template colors or footer text) are handled centrally—focus on items you can control.
Work with the Extension Web Team
Accessibility Review for Documents in Resources Before SharePoint Upload
Ensuring accessibility should start at the very beginning of the document creation process. Whether you are working in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Canva, or InDesign, building accessibility into your documents before exporting to PDF makes them easier for everyone to use.
Use each platform’s built-in accessibility tools to check your work, following the same principles as web content: include descriptive alt text for images, apply headers in a logical reading order, ensure sufficient color contrast, and structure tables clearly.
All documents must be fully ADA-compliant before they are uploaded to SharePoint or shared on any digital platform.
Staff should not remove any documents from Resources or the Media Library until they have met with the Extension Web Team to ensure removal will not break links elsewhere on the site.
The Web Team is primarily responsible for uploading documents to SharePoint and will ensure that only fully accessible, compliant files are uploaded.
Checklist: Building Accessibility from the Start
Create accessible documents in your platform:
- Microsoft Word: Run the built-in Accessibility Checker.
- Google Docs: Use accessibility settings and verify screen reader support.
- Canva: Use accessibility features and check color contrast.
- InDesign: Use the PDF Accessibility Checker (Tags panel), add alt text, and tag headers (H1, H2, H3) to ensure logical reading order.
- Spreadsheets: Apply headers, add descriptive alt text, set a logical tab order, ensure sufficient color contrast, and avoid merged cells.
Generate and check the PDF:
- Review Create and verify PDF accessibility (Acrobat Pro) to review and remediate PDFs for accessibility before they are uploaded, or re-uploaded, to the document storage platform
Key Topics to Remember
- Images: Add descriptive alt text.
- Headings and Reading Order: Maintain a logical hierarchy.
- Color and Contrast: Ensure sufficient contrast for readability.
- Tables: Structure clearly for accessibility.
- Links and Navigation: Provide meaningful link text.
- Lists: Use built-in bulleted or numbered lists.
- General Formatting: Avoid styling that reduces accessibility.
- Adobe Acrobat: Verify PDF accessibility before upload using Create and verify PDF accessibility (Acrobat Pro).
Working with the Extension Web Team
If you have documents that need to be reviewed or remediated for accessibility before moving to SharePoint, contact the Extension Web Team.
They can guide you through the process, provide support, and ensure all uploaded documents meet ADA standards. By building accessibility from the start and performing final checks, we can ensure that all resources are usable and accessible to everyone who relies on them.
Schedule a Meeting with Us
If you have questions primarily related to your programmatic or county websites’ accessibility, please submit your request to meet or question using the form, indicating “Website Help” on the Extension Communications and Marketing: Submit a Request page.
- Our team will follow up within 48 hours.
- You will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your request. Reply to that email if you need to add updates or provide additional information.