What is Digital Accessibility - an introduction to digital accessibility fundamentals
- 1. What is Digital Accessibility? Good digital accessibility is “content and design clear and simple enough so that most people can use it without needing to adapt it.” 1 in 5 people have a disability that may affect how they use a website or digital service. Everyone has different needs at different times. For example, you might be in an environment where you can’t listen to the sound on a video. Digital accessibility is about ensuring that everyone can use digital resources like webpages in the way they want.
- 2. Our Responsibilities Since 2018 the University has been legally required to ensure that all digital content conforms to specific accessibility standards known as WCAG 2.1 AA. The regulations apply to all content, whether it’s new or existing, intended for staff or students, or for an internal or external audience. The University also has a responsibility under the Equality Act 2010 and Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to provide accessible content. The University could be fined if any content is not compliant.
- 3. What’s Your Role in Digital Accessibility? When we create digital content like webpages and documents, we make choices about what to include and how it looks; font, colours, layout, etc. Ask yourself: “will my choices make it easier for everyone to access and understand this?” We all have a responsibility to think ahead about digital accessibility to ensure that no-one is disadvantaged by our content or design.
- 4. Think Differently A good first step in accessibility is to think about how different people might experience content differently, e.g.: • if you viewed a webpage on a smartphone, would the text be large and clear enough to read? • if you were looking at a webpage in direct sunlight, would the contrast be good enough? • if you couldn’t turn your sound on for a video, could you understand what was being said? The more complex the content and design, the more likely it is to create barriers to inclusion. If you can, test, ideally with more than one person.
- 5. Good Accessibility in Practice • It doesn’t have to be plain, but don’t overcomplicate design • Structure documents with headings and subheadings • Use easy to read fonts like Arial, Calibri or Azo Sans, 12pt or larger • Don’t justify text (i.e. don’t align text to both the left and the right margins) • Use background and foreground colours that contrast well and don’t clash • Add subtitles to videos • Add descriptions (alt text) to all images • Don’t use ‘click here’ or ‘see here’ for links • Tables should be as simple as possible and used for data only
- 6. Example: Headings On a webpage or in Microsoft Office, you can structure the document by using heading tags or styles. Changing the font size alone doesn’t structure the document, it just changes how the text looks.
- 7. Example: Alt Text To add alt text in Microsoft Office, right click on the image you want to add the alt text to, and select ‘Edit Alt Text’. The alt text for this image would be something like: A screenshot of the alt text box in Microsoft Office applications, which asks the user to ‘describe this object and its context to someone who is blind’.
- 8. Example: Good and Bad Links Imagine that all you can see on a webpage are the links. A B Link descriptions are for information, not instruction. They should describe what’s behind the link, not tell the user what to do. Don’t use ‘see here’ or ‘click here’ as links.
- 9. Example: Tables “Screen readers will read the content of a table in a linear fashion — left to right, top to bottom.” A B • Avoid using a table unless necessary to present data • Always use column headers • Avoid merging or splitting cells
- 10. Checking Accessibility in Microsoft Office Microsoft Office 365 applications have a built in accessibility checker, in the Review menu. This can help you to identify and resolve problems with accessibility. You can also choose to have Office monitor the accessibility of your document as you work.
- 11. Checking Accessibility in Other Applications There is a similar feature in Adobe Acrobat for PDFs. PDFs can be made accessible but it’s easier to improve accessibility in Office documents. Microsoft Stream can generate automatic subtitles and transcripts for videos that can then be refined and corrected if needed. Microsoft provides guidance on using Stream to make videos accessible. Accessibility for Video
- 12. Checking Accessibility of Websites Software and browser add-ons can check some aspects of website accessibility automatically, although we do not currently have a recommended tool that works with intranets. When checking a webpage for accessibility, make sure: • The page title briefly describes the page content • All images have appropriate alt-text • Links are descriptive and don’t use ‘click here’ • Content is clear, structured and uses headings • Text and background colours have clear contrast and don’t clash
- 13. SCULPT – Six Basic Things to Consider •Structure using heading styles •Clear – text must be readable on background •Use alt-text for images and subtitles for videos •Links should not use ‘click here’ •Plain English is best •Tables are for data only
- 14. Summary • Good digital accessibility means making “content and design clear and simple enough so that most people can use it without needing to adapt it.” • Think about accessibility from the start, and do accessibility testing where possible • You can use accessibility checkers to find and correct accessibility problems