Accessibility when creating content

Images

• Inaccessible image: no information at all about the image for screen readers
• Accessible image: includes a description of the image
• Image meant to inform readers (should be accompanied by alt-text) vs. decorative images (don’t need alt-text)
• To Add alt text- select the image and select “alt-text”, and add a description to the description field. Describe the image’s content and function. Use punctuation, start with capitalization and end with a full stop.

Sections

• Use Google’s built-in assisted tech by selecting styles, like headers, from the dropdown menu

Hyperlinks

• Avoid generic phrases like ‘here’ and ‘click here’. Use more meaningful hyperlinked text like ‘There are other examples.’

Tables

• Should only be used to present information and not for adding formatting
• For simple data use a list instead of a table - Google Doc tables are difficult to make accessible.

Columns

• When using columns, screenreaders will not understand columns created by using the tab key or spacebar to create the visual appearance of columns. A screenreader will not understand the proper reading order and may jump across columns, reading text left to right.
• Use column formatting instead.
  • Highlight the text that you need to format
  • Click the format menu
  • Select Columns and choose the desired number of columns (additional column and alignment options are available in More Options).

Lists (ordered and unordered)

• Use a numbered list when order or sequence is important; and bulleted lists for unordered lists
• Click the bullet or numbered list option

Colour and Contrast

• Low colour contrast is difficult to read
• Ensure that your colour contrast is high. Check the contrast at https://accessibleweb.com/color-contrast-checker/
• Choose foreground colours that contrast sharply with background colours
• Colour: avoid using colour to convey meaning; doing this means the meaning is only available to those who can see colour
• Avoid relying on colour and visual styling to convey meaning
• Use textual elements to convey meaning, such as asterisks

Text Style

• Avoid centre-justifying your text. It is harder to read because the spacing between words is modified to stretch the text to the line end. Instead, try to use left-aligned text because its standardized spacing is easier to read.
• Don’t use text that is 10pt or smaller. Use text 11 pt size or larger

Navigation Landmarks

• Readers may lose their place in a document without navigation landmarks, such as page numbers.
• Include page numbers in your Google Doc by going to the top menu, clicking Insert, and choosing Page Number

Recommended Tools

• Microsoft Word has an accessibility checker built-in. Adobe Reader has the same. Both are good for when you’re converting Google Docs to accessible PDFs.
• WCAG Color Contrast Checker

These notes are taken from a presentation made by the Library Publishing Coalition. The original slides are here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1B2oIn9fksjEATMniwsXfC9ejbAE8E5hh1_6FqVu7WSQ/edit?usp=sharing