Web Development
Web Developer Guidelines
Visual Design Recommendations

Checkpoint 7.3 - Core

External stylesheets only are used

WCAG 1.0 Priority 2

WCAG Guideline 3. Use markup and style sheets and do so properly.

The cascading nature of CSS stylesheets means that inline styles take precedence over embedded styles and externally referenced stylesheets. Inline styles create redundancy and increase maintenance by putting style in multiple places throughout the web site. This requires more attention to maintenance and can lead to style omissions and errors. It also hinders the use of global stylesheets and user-specified stylesheets.

Requirement

Use only external CSS stylesheets. Do not use embedded styles or inline styles.

Checking Tool

  • Internet Explorer - AIS toolbar: Validate > W3C CSS Validator > Validate CSS
  • Internet Explorer - AIS toolbar: Source > View Source
  • Firefox - Web Developer's Toolbar: Tools > Validate CSS
  • Firefox - Web Developer's Toolbar: View Source > View Source

Information Source

The original source of this information is located on the W3C web site  (www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10-TECHS/#tech-style-sheets)

 

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