• Provide alternative text for all images (via the <img> tag's alt attribute). Make the alternative text rich and meaningful. Adding alt text should be standard procedure for all web page creation; in fact, in the new HTML 4.0 specification, the alt attribute is now a required part of the <img> tag.
• Add periods at the end of alt text so a speech device can locate the logical end of the phrase.
• When linking a graphic, provide a caption under it that also serves as a text link.
• Always provide text link alternatives for imagemaps.
• Offer a text-only version of the whole site from the home page.
• Provide transcripts or descriptions of audio clips to make that content accessible to those with hearing impairments.
• Use caution in relying on PDF (Adobe Portable Document Format) to deliver information. If you are using PDF files, provide an HTML alternative. You may also provide a link to Adobe's site where users can download software tools that convert PDF files to text format for delivery by nonvisual browsers (http://access.adobe.com)
• Provide alternative mechanisms for online forms, such as a text-based order form or a phone number for personal assistance.
• Avoide the <blink> tage, which is said to wreak havoc with Braille and speech displays.
• Be sure content in tables makes sense when read sequentially in the HTML source.
• Be aware that misuse of HTML structural tags for presentation purposes (such as using the <blockquote> tag purely to achieve indents) hinders clear communication via a speech or Braille device.

For a more thorough list of guidelines for accessible HTML authoring, visit the W3C's recommendations and checklist at http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-WAI-PAGEAUTH.

If you would like to check how accessible your web page is, try running it through a validator, such as Bobby (http://www.cast.org/bobby/), that will scan your page and point our accessibility issues.