Accessible Digital Content

Accessible Digital Content

1. Documents

   • PDF and Word Documents can also be made more accessible. Avoid complex language.
   • PDF
     • run optical character recognition (OCR) in order to create text, rather than an image of the text which can't be accessed by screen readers or text-to-speech (TTS) software. Make longer documents easier to navigate by adding bookmarks. As with the rules for adding images to word processed documents, ensure they have meaningful alt text and use screen tips for extra information.Alternatively, if the image will improve the appearance of the document but doesn’t add any important information, tag it as an artefact so that is ignored by screen reader software.
   • Word
     • Use Inbuilt Heading Styles Avoid JargonUse a Sans-Serif Font, as it is easier to read for a person with Dyslexia. Also, Left-Justify Text. You can also use screen tips if you need extra information. Make sure your image is positioned in a way that doesn’t interfere with the text.

2. Web

   • Disability Awareness is Key
   • Headings
     • Use header tags properly, so screen reader users can navigate the page quickly
   • Hyperlinks
     • Always include a "Skip to Content" link to improve usability of the page for people who use screen readers. Never use links such as "Click Here", or "More info" because this means nothing to a screen reader user who wants to read a list of page links.
   • Colour
     • Use strong contrast between foreground and background elements. Don't use colour alone to convey importance. This will be lost on people with certain visual impairments.
   • Layout
     • Use plenty of white-space around elements. A cluttered page is difficult for people with cognitive disabilities to use.

3. Video

   • Captions
     • Helps people with hearing loss
   • Transcripts
     • Helps people with visual impairments who rely on screen reading software

4. Images

   • Alternative Text
     • Use alt text, for screen reader users  and people who have images switched off on their browser. Use a long description (longdesc) for detailed descriptions. Use Empty alt tags for images that are used for visual effects, like bullet points E.g. alt=" "
   • Size
     • Keep file size low, so it can download fast. Use suitable dimensions Surround by plenty of White Space Use a caption