Check and fix before publishing in Canvas
Before publishing content in Canvas, it is important to run a check and fix to ensure that your content is accessible and meets the University’s baseline practices.
Check for accessible content
The Canvas interface meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 to an AA level. Check that your course content also meets accessibility standards through the UDOIT Advantage tool.
Creating accessible content
Our accessibility section provides tips for accessible content and how to fix errors reported by UDOIT.
Canvas Baseline Practices
Aligning your course with the Practices provides students with a more consistent and inclusive online learning experience across their programs. They improve consistency, accessibility, and mobile-friendliness of the Canvas experience.
Validate links in content
Before you publish your course, check that all the links are valid. The Link Validator searches through course content and notifies you if there are any invalid or unresponsive course content links, such as:
- Unpublished content (e.g., pages, discussions or assignments that are unpublished or have a set release date)
- Broken links to content that has been deleted or renamed since the link was created (e.g., a course file or page)
- External links or images that cannot be found
Note: The Link Validator does not validate links to email addresses.
This feature can be found in the course settings.
Activate Content Link Error notifications
Canvas’ Content Link Error notifications will send an email to teachers if students follow a link to content that cannot be reached. Make sure the notification is active for your user profile.
- In Canvas, go to Account > Notifications > Content Link Error
- Set the frequency to ‘Notify immediately’ (recommended), or ‘Daily summary’
Support
Check out our learning technology support page to find out what options are available for Canvas.
Page updated: 07/10/2025 (minor edit)