These are core concepts for digital accessibility across all formats. For tips on specific content types like slides or PDFs, see Create Accessible Documents.
Headings & Structure
- Titles and headings make content more accessible to screen reader users and readers with cognitive disabilities.
- Provide a brief, descriptive title for all pages, documents, and media.
- Use headings to divide and label sections of content.
- Add headings using the editing toolbar rather than by using large, bold fonts.
- More about titles, headings, and structure
Links
- Don't "click here!" Links should describe their destination and make sense even without the surrounding text.
Example: "Learn about creating accessible links" is better than "Click here to learn about accessible links." - Links should open in the same window except in rare cases when following a link would interrupt a process, such as a link that would take the user away from a webform they are filling out.
- Links to files/media should indicate the file type within the linked text, as in Accessibility Do's and Don'ts (PDF)
Images
- Provide descriptive alternative text for meaningful images.
- Use an empty alt tag for decorative images that don't convey meaning.
- Alternative text is not just for websites. Add alt text to any meaningful images in PDFs, Microsoft and Google Docs, social media posts, etc.
- Provide complete text descriptions for complex visuals like charts, diagrams, and infographics that can't be fully explained in brief alt text.
- More about accessible images
Captions & Audio Descriptions
- Video and audio content, such as podcasts, videos, and narrated slideshows, are increasingly being used to enrich and deliver online experiences. Video and audio content must include text-based alternatives so all users can access the information.
- Videos must have captions. Videos also need audio descriptions if they convey information visually that is not described in the captions.
- Audio-only content such as audio recordings or podcasts must have a transcript.
- Find out how to caption video and audio media. Note that videos automatically captioned, such as Kaltura videos, Zoom recordings, YouTube and AI-assisted apps like Otter.ai and VoiceThread need to be edited for accuracy. Learn more about how to edit auto-captions:
Color
- Use contrasting colors for the text and background. You can use a contrast checker to make sure the colors you've chosen are accessible.
- Don't rely solely on color to convey information. Use symbols or text alongside color coding to ensure that color blind users can get the same information.
- More on color and contrast