Editoral

Write good alt text for your images

Non-sighted users often make use of a talking browser to “read” the web. These specialized browsers convert text to speech so that a user can hear the words on a site. When a talking browser lands on an image, it looks for alt text that it can read aloud; if it finds none, it will often just say “image,” leaving the user in the dark as to what the image is and how it matters to the story.  Describe all of the elements that explain what’s happening in the image, rather than just setting the alt text to be something like, “photograph”. If you have to use an image of text, be sure to describe the design if relevant, as well as all of the words in the image. (Ex: Whiteboard drawing of the quote “This is a quote”) 

Be as consistent and clear as possible

Be clear in copy.  Avoid jargon and idioms.  Don’t refer to colour, or where elements are on a screen.  Use section headings to organize content.  Present only the info users needs, and only when they need it.  Use images to support content. Illustrations and graphs can clarify complex concepts.  Use headings, sub-headings, and bullet points to make content easy to scan. 

Links should be descriptive

Assistive technology is able to find all links on a page and present them in various forms, but these links are rather useless if it’s a long list of links that are just the text “click here.” A better way is to have the link describe where the user will go if they click it, giving them an idea of what’s on the other side of clicking. 

Important information should not be conveyed through images, Colour, or sensory characteristics alone

You should not rely solely on images, shape, size, visual location, orientation, or sound to indicate important instructions for operating or understanding content (ex. “See the image above”). Instead, use a combination of positioning, Colour, and labelling to identify content. 

There should be another indicator (such as icons to accompany Colour coding, or an underline on linked text) so that people who cannot easily distinguish Colours will be able to understand and use your content. 

Make sure all videos have captions 

Make page titles unique and informative 

Make sure interactions are well-separated and easy to hit 

Try to avoid  using the same microcopy (link text) multiple times on the same screen 

If this is essential for comprehension then devs we require to provide screen-reader-only text to clarify. 

Create text alternatives for charts and graphs 

A useful way to do this may be to include a data table near the chart. 

Test your content for comprehension 

Use the Hemingway app.  Test on users at HALS (Haringey adult learning services)  Aim for a reading age of XXXX

Further reading

• Why Your Links Should Never Say “Click Here”

• Sensory Characteristics