What is Digital Accessibility
Digital accessibility, also known as web accessibility, is the practice of designing and developing digital tools, websites, and technologies so that people with disabilities can use them. The goal is to ensure that all users have equal access to information and services, regardless of their abilities, devices, or environments
What are the most common accessibility issues?
Images
- Provide alternative (alt) text on non-text content that conveys meaning, such as images.
- Keep the alt text concise (about 125 characters).
- Hide images from screen readers that do have meaning or are for decoration.
- Use an empty alt value (alt=””)
- The W3C’s Web Accessibility Initiative states, “Whether to treat an image as decorative or informative is a judgment only the author can make, based on the reason for including the image on the page.”
- Avoid images with text when possible. If necessary, add alt text.
Headers
- Use a logical hierarchy: Start with the most important idea on the page as the <h1> heading, then use <h2> headings for sub-sections, and so on. You can use multiple <h2>, <h3>, and <h6> headings, but avoid skipping levels.
- Plan ahead: It’s best to plan out the heading structure before writing the page.
- Use H1 for the page title: The H1 heading should contain the main topic’s primary keyword and be used almost exclusively for the page title.
- Avoid styling: Headings should be used like a bulleted list or content outline, not to stylize text.
- Be consistent: Use headings in a consistent order without skipping levels.
Color Contrast
- Ensure the contrast ratio between text and background colors is at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text (at least 18 point (typically 24px) or 14 point (typically 18.66px) and bold)
- Avoid gold on white: Accessible Text & Color.
- Visit the Check Accessibility webpage for a list of contrast checkers.
- Do not use color as the only method to convey meaning.
- Include an additional descriptive component such as text, patterns, or shapes.
Audio and Visual
- Make video accessible through closed captioning.
- Make audio files accessible through transcripts.