Most common accessibility issues in documents
- Low contrast on text- Color contrast can be a major problem for individuals with visual impairment. Stick to high-contrast colors such as white text on a dark background or black text on a white background. Try to avoid using yellow or orange text, or other lighter colors.
- Reading order– In a document the reading order is a critical component of how the content is shared. What if the screen reader reads the conclusion before the introduction? The reading order is determined by the order of the tags in the Tags tree.
- Correct heading usage– incorrect, inconsistent, or nonexistent heading usage. Headings help readers navigate the document, stay organized, and give someone a clear outline of the document’s structure. Without headings, or perhaps even more confusingly, with incorrect headings, a reader may wonder where in a document they are, have trouble finding the specific content they are interested in, and be unable to make sense of the flow and organization of the document. A basic and helpful tip for assigning proper headings is to think of an outline of the document. The document title should be tagged as a Heading 1 (H1 in PDF). The subsections of the document should be tagged as Heading 2s (H2), and the subsections of the H2s should be tagged as Heading 3s (H3). The same section and sub-section organization should be used throughout the entire document.
- Alternative text– alternative text (Alt text) is a textual description of an image shared with AT users when that content is read. Not only having Alt text but, even more importantly, having accurate Alt text for all tagged graphics is a requirement under all accessibility standards and a common shortcoming for newer remediators. If a graphic is contextually important, but assistive technology cannot share that information, a user is missing out on valuable content, and the file is therefore inaccessible. A related issue is that some Alt text is horribly wrong. Some authoring tools actually auto-populate the Alternate text field, which is typically incorrect and poses other issues.
- Inappropriate navigation links– Poorly coded navigation links can create accessibility challenges, particularly for users who rely on screen readers. When not coded properly, these links may not be recognized by screen readers, requiring visually impaired users to listen through the navigation each time they load a new page.
- Missing subtitles and video captions– Missing subtitles and captions are a significant barrier for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. Videos without captions exclude this audience from the content entirely. Captions also benefit people who speak a different language from the video’s audio, viewers in noisy environments, and those who simply prefer to follow along with text. Providing captions ensures everyone has equal access to the information presented in your videos.
- Lack of keyboard accessibility– Sometimes, it’s hard or even impossible for people with visual impairments to use a mouse to move around websites. Instead, they rely on using just the keyboard, using keys like Tab and shortcuts. To make your site accessible to these users, you need to make sure every part of your website is easy to reach and use with a keyboard. This means organizing content well with clear headings, making sure links and forms are easy to find, and ensuring that media controls can be operated without a mouse. It’s also important to have a visible focus indicator when navigating with a keyboard. These indicators show users with low vision which part of the page they’re currently focused on. They usually appear as borders or highlights around the selected element and should follow a logical order as users move through the page.
Creating an accessible Word document
Creating an accessible Adobe PDF document
Using the Accessibility Checker in Canvas