Google Sites Widgets

Advanced features we recommend not using

While these tools are available by default in Google Sites, accessibility experts at the University of Minnesota strongly discourage using them. The following tools are not accessible and should be avoided.

Collapsible groups (accordions)

• Not screen reader accessible. Screen readers only read "expand button" and not the text.
• If accordions are necessary, consider Drupal Lite instead

Buttons

• Buttons are read by screen readers as a link, which is an entirely different web component. This can be confusing for screen reader users.
• Recommendation: Do not use

Docs

• The Docs tool allows you to embed a visible, scrollable, interactive Google Doc onto a page.
• Can create a keyboard trap if site visitor has edit access to the Google Doc. This means that you can navigate to the Google Doc with your keyboard, but you won't be able to get out of it and access the rest of the webpage information.
• Recommendation: do not use, link to the Google Doc instead

Charts

• There is no way to add alt text
• Recommendation: do not use, insert as image with alt text instead. 
  Consider using Drupal Lite that has robust and accessible Charts tools.

Advanced features to use with caution

Image Carousels

Image carousels are okay to use with the following changes:

• Uncheck "auto start" to prevent the carousel from continuously advancing on its own
• Add alt text to images
• Don't use captions. The text is very small and difficult to read.

Maps

Maps are okay to use with the following additions:

• Include a text alternative (e.g., in a paragraph above or below the map) for people who cannot see or interpret the map

Advanced features that are okay to use without any further adjustments

• Table of contents
• Divider
• Spacer
• Social Links
• Placeholder
• Cloud Search
• YouTube
• Calendar
• Slides
• Sheets
• Forms

Custom Elements

There is no way to create a table of data in Google Sites. If you'd like to add a table to your site, we recommend the following tools:

• Embed a Google Sheet with the Sheets tool
• Use the tableizer tool
  • Copy and paste your data from Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel into Tableizer
  • Make any adjustments to the styling options as needed, then click the "Tableize It!" button
  • Click the "Copy HTML to Clipboard" button
  • In Google Sites, click on "Embed" and then click on "Embed code"
  • Paste your Tableizer HTML into this box, then click "Next" to see a preview of your table
  • Click "Insert" to add it to your page