One of the simplest—and most frequently overlooked—ways to improve web accessibility is to correctly format groups of related objects, or lists. Whether you’re creating a web page, a Canvas module, or a digital document, if the content represents a collection of related items, it should be built using the list tools provided in your editor.
This small step has a big impact. When lists are explicitly defined, screen readers can announce that a list is present and tell users how many items it contains. This helps people who are using assistive technology quickly understand the structure of the page. It also enables efficient navigation, allowing users to jump between items with a single keystroke.
In HTML, this means using semantic list elements such as <ul> for unordered lists, <ol> for ordered lists, and occasionally <dl> for definition lists. In authoring tools like WordPress, Drupal, Canvas, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs, these features appear as toolbar buttons for bulleted, numbered, or multilevel lists. Using them improves consistency, clarity, and accessibility.
To learn more—and to find examples from common authoring tools—visit the Lists web page on the Accessible Technology website.
Want to Learn More?
- Watch for an occasional series of short talks by Alaina Foust and Jeane Marty on accessibility barriers identified by DubBot at UW Web Council meetings. Slides from the December 4 session are available on the December 2025 Web Council web page.
- Check out UW’s Digital Accessibility calendar to find meetups, Lunch & Learn events, Digital Accessible Liaisons meetings, and more!
- Find self-paced options on our recent blog post Training Options to Build Your Accessibility Skills.
- For more guidance and examples, visit UW Accessible Technology ‘s Links web page as well as their Digital Accessibility Checklist, where you’ll find additional resources, tutorials, and best practices to help you design and maintain accessible digital content for everyone.