ACCESSIBILITY SERIES
When first getting started in accessibility, the WCAG and PDF/UA standards can feel overwhelming. Don’t get bogged down by the technical standards. Instead, keep their purpose in mind: To make content available to as many people as possible. We believe in progress over perfection. Any changes you make will help your content be accessible to that many more people, and that is worth celebrating.
Color is a big deal in accessibility. Multiple WCAG guidelines address it. Meaningful information needs to have a strong color contrast between the information and its background. Think of the P in POUR, which stands for “perceivable.” Without a strong color contrast, readers won’t be able to see, or perceive, the content.
Additionally, ensure that color is not the only way you convey information. For example, in a letter to families, you would not want to refer to “the blue text below.” What if the family printed out the letter in black and white? Now they can no longer perceive the color. Instead, you would bold the text for emphasis and refer to “the bold text below.”
This is an easy step to take. If you include images that convey information, add alternate text, or “alt text” to them. Don’t overthink it. Simply provide a brief description of the image within the context it is being used. Alt text is needed for images within PDFs, websites, and apps.
The text alternative for video and motion graphics are closed captions and transcripts. Check that the closed captions and transcripts accurately convey what was said or is being said in your live or recorded video. Artificial intelligence can help you get an initial draft of the closed captions and transcripts, but a human needs to review them for accuracy.
When you write or design content, keep its outline in mind. How you structure the content matters. Each document or webpage should only have one Heading Level 1. After that, any heading levels should be assigned Heading Level 2, followed by Heading Level 3, and so on. Do not jump from Heading Level 2 to Heading Level 4. You’ll leave your readers, sighted or not, confused about what happened to Heading Level 3.
Do not use heading levels as a form of creativity. The heading levels should go in order, like the outline of a paper. If you want the visuals of the heading levels to be more creative, talk to your designer or developer about adjusting the typography styles in your document or website. “Styles,” or a set of predesigned text formatting, are an imperative component of creating accessible content in PDFs or on webpages.
TriMetrix has created a variety of accessibility resources for designers, e-learning developers, and others interested in getting started with accessibility. Check out our “Accessibility Resources” hub to find resources such as:
Reach out to us at lrc@wrma.com, and we’ll get back to you!
