UWDB Website

Website for the UWDB group. See the site in action at db.cs.washington.edu.

Write your recent news into the news data file _data/news.yml.

Accessibility Guidelines

When creating or editing pages, follow these guidelines to ensure WCAG 2.1 AA compliance:

Images

• ✅ Always add descriptive alt text to images: <img src="logo.png" alt="Project Name Logo">
• ❌ Avoid generic alt text like "image", "photo", or "logo"
• For decorative images, use empty alt: alt=""

Headings

• ✅ Use proper heading hierarchy: h1 → h2 → h3 (don't skip levels)
• ❌ Don't use headings just to make text big/bold (use CSS classes like .lead instead)
• ❌ Don't skip heading levels (e.g., h2 → h4)
• Each page should have one h1
• Headings define document structure for screen readers

Links

• ✅ Make link text descriptive: "Read the research paper" not "click here"
• ✅ Add visual indicators for PDFs: Links to .pdf files automatically show "(PDF)"
• ✅ Use title or aria-label for icon-only links

Colors

• ✅ Ensure 4.5:1 contrast ratio for normal text, 3:1 for large text
• Test with WebAIM Contrast Checker
• Use #333 or darker for text on light backgrounds

Icons

• ✅ Hide decorative icons from screen readers: <i class="fa fa-icon" aria-hidden="true"></i>
• ✅ Always include visible text alongside icons

Forms (if applicable)

• ✅ Associate labels with inputs: <label for="email">Email</label><input id="email">

Testing

Run WAVE browser extension before committing changes.

See ACCESSIBILITY.md for complete details.

How to make changes

• install jekyll
• run jekyll jekyll serve --watch --baseurl '' (shorthand: ./serve.sh)
• head over to localhost:4000

If jekyll throws a version error, you may need to gem install json before serving.

How to add slides for NWDS

• SSH to recycle or another CSE machine
• cd to /cse/www2/db/db2-files/nwds/pdf
• Upload pdf version of slides
• Add the correct link on the NWDS markdown page