A11yAwareness

A11yAwareness, 2 days ago to random

When using Microsoft Word or Google Docs, don't just make text bigger and bolder to make it a heading. That will work for sighted users, but screen reader users will miss that and just hear it as normal paragraph text. Use actual heading styles, like level 1 through 6.

A11yAwareness, 15 days ago to random

Color can be a great way to distinguish data points in charts. But don't rely on color alone to convey information, as that can make things difficult for colorblind users. Using different shapes or patterns can help. Make sure patterns or textures are simple and not distracting.

A11yAwareness, 17 days ago to random

Avoid using emoji as bullet points in social media posts. An emoji has a coded description that gets read by screen readers, and thus could confuse users who think that's part of the content. If you can't use standard lists, use dashes for bullet points or add line breaks.

A11yAwareness, 21 days ago to random

A transcript is the only way to make video or audio content accessible to someone who is both deaf and blind. Transcripts can be converted into braille, to be read on a refreshable braille output device.

A11yAwareness, 25 days ago to random

If you put links or hashtags in your alt text, no one will be able to click or select the link or hashtag. It's just going to be read out loud. If you have a link or hashtag to share, that should go in the written part of your post or your tweet, but not the alt text.

A11yAwareness, 26 days ago to random

People who want to make the web accessible need to understand the many different ways that people with disabilities use the web. This W3C resource offers a good introduction to how disabled people navigate the web, and barriers they commonly encounter.

https://www.w3.org/WAI/people-use-web/

A11yAwareness, 28 days ago to random

When writing alt text, focus on what's truly important. In an image with text about a canceled event, don't spend a lot of time describing the borders of the image. A decorative border is not nearly as important as the actual message.

A11yAwareness, 28 days ago to random

Do not rely on the A.I.-generated alt text in Facebook or Instagram. The result is vague and useless, like "may be an image of food and text," and "may be an image of outdoors." These do nothing to give users the context and content of an image.

A11yAwareness, 29 days ago to random

If you use the clapping hands emoji between every word for emphasis, screen reader users will hear "clapping hands" after each word. This is true for any emoji. This will be distracting, annoying, and disorienting. The message you're trying to emphasize will likely be lost.

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

If you pair light colors (yellow text on white background) or dark colors (dark blue text on black background), users will struggle to read your content. Understanding color contrast will help you better serve all users, especially those with low vision.

https://webaim.org/articles/contrast/

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

Images shared on social media always need alt text. If you have an event or program claiming to be about "diversity, belonging, equity and inclusion," then your lack of alt text for any image you share about this event or program is especially egregious and misses the mark in a big way.

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

When you make the pitch for accessibility, be prepared for pushback. There are several myths and misconceptions, so it's good to be aware of what they are and how to dispel them.

https://a11ymyths.com/

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

When creating PDFs, avoid using "Print to PDF." A screen reader user may still be able to access the text of PDFs created this way, but heading structure, alternative text, and any other tag structure will be lost. Using "Save As" or "Export" can preserve these tags.

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

Meryl Evans' "Why and How to Create Accessible Social Media and Website Content" introduces content creators to basic accessibility considerations for links, hashtags, emojis, alt text, transcripts, and more.

https://meryl.net/digital-content-accessibility/

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

Many people would love to start a digital accessibility program at their organization but don't know how or where to begin. If you're feeling overwhelmed and want some tips on how to get going, this primer can help.

https://www.tpgi.com/a-guide-to-creating-a-successful-digital-accessibility-program

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

Don't forget transcripts for video and audio. These will help blind users and low-vision users, deaf and hard-of-hearing users, people with ADHD, and people with audio-processing disorders. Transcripts also benefit search engines, people in quiet spaces, and people in a hurry.

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

"Disabled users don't use my website" is a cop-out and a lie. There's no way to know how many assistive technology users are using your site. You can't confidently exclude a large portion of the world's population that has a disability by claiming none of them use your site.

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

Do not cram alt text with keywords just to improve search engine optimization. This will hinder alt text’s true purpose: improving accessibility. Focus on describing the photo's content. Search engine optimization should not be the goal for writing good alt text.

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

"Introduction to Web Accessibility" is a free course designed for people of all roles and all experience levels, so regardless of your background, there's something you can learn here.

https://www.edx.org/course/web-accessibility-introduction

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

Automatic captions make it difficult to watch videos because the viewer is forced to decipher misspelled or mistranslated words that appear in a string of text without punctuation. These can be distracting and disorienting. Always edit these types of captions before publishing.

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

You don't necessarily need to say "image of" in your alt text for users to know it's an image. Screen readers will announce that it's an image. But it can help readers to specify if it's a hand-drawn image, Polaroid, infographic, screenshot, chart, map, diagram, or so on.

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

In alt text, you don't have to painstakingly describe every single detail in an image. Give users enough information so they’re not missing out on the context. Alt text for an image of a football game need not try to describe every single person in the crowd if it's not relevant.

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

People often have difficulty reading content when there isn’t sufficient contrast, so it's important to have high color contrast. TPGi’s free color contrast checker tool allows you to determine the contrast ratio of two colors by using an eye-drop tool.

https://developer.paciellogroup.com/color-contrast-checker/

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

When possible, organize pages with headings to help users scan page content for what they're looking for. Statements allow you to put the keywords first. Both sighted users and screen reader users benefit if words they expect are at the front of headings.

https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/page-structure/headings/

A11yAwareness, 1 month ago to random

People who are new to writing alt text sometimes feel they must describe every detail in every visual, including logos. This is unnecessary and will overwhelm screen reader users. For example, it's OK to write "Google logo" rather than describing the logo in exhausting detail.