Checklists for Document Compliance

Being digitally accessible means ensuring all users can read and understand what you create. It includes the language you use, the structure of the text, and the way you organize and present content. This page introduces some basic considerations to help you get started making content accessible for all by meeting Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards.

Tips for Authoring Software

Tips for Writing Content

Provide informative, unique page titles – especially for presentations.
Use heading elements (style sheets) to create a logical hierarchy.
Use bulleted and numbered lists to make content scannable.
Write meaningful link text that clearly communicates where the link goes.
Aim for a sixth- to eighth-grade reading level on your content (if possible).
Review the content to ensure sensory (color, size, location) is not part of the content.
Create transcripts and captions for multimedia – don’t rely on auto-caption generators.
Provide clear labels and instructions on any form of content.
Be careful when using colors to highlight text. Make sure the colors are easy to see, and don’t use color as the only way to highlight content (i.e., add italics or bolds or underlines and color, though underlines should be used sparingly to prevent confusion with hyperlinks).
Make tables accessible with titles, summaries, and header rows and columns; avoid using tables for layout.
Define acronyms and abbreviations on first use
Run an accessibility checker (available in Microsoft software) prior to publishing files.

Tips for Images

All images you use in your materials are not treated equally. Think about the image's purpose. Ask yourself, "How am I using this image? Is the image essential to understanding the content?" Depending on how it’s used, the image may require alternative text so it’s understood by everyone.

Informative images: Images that graphically represent concepts and information, typically pictures, photos, and illustrations. The text alternative should be at least a short description conveying the essential information the image presents.
Decorative images: Provide a null text alternative (alt="") when the only purpose of an image is to add visual decoration. This will allow assistive technology users to quickly skip these non-essential images.
Functional images: The text alternative of an image used as a link or as a button should describe the functionality of the link or button rather than the visual image. For example, a printer icon can represent the print function or a magnifying glass can represent the search function.
Images of text: If images of text are used, the text alternative should contain the same words as in the image or be repeated outside the image. But it’s best to avoid text inside images since this can present other problems for accessibility compliance.
Complex images: For charts and graphs, include a link to the detail table used to create the image.
Groups of images: If multiple images convey a single piece of information (i.e., five star icons used to create a rating system), the text alternative for one image should convey the information for the entire group.
Image maps: The text alternative for an image that contains multiple clickable areas should provide an overall context for the set of links. Also, each individually clickable area should have alternative text that describes the purpose or destination of the link.

Tips for Accessible PDFs

Use the accessibility checker in the originating document creation software (i.e., Word, InDesign)
Use "Create Adobe PDF" or Export; do not use "Print to PDF"
Confirm that the PDF is tagged and all essential information is in the tag structure.
Review the reading order of the document to make sure it’s logical.
Fill out the document properties completely, including title, language, and metadata.
Include bookmarks for documents larger than nine pages.

Best Practices

Reduce unnecessary capitalization: Avoid excessive capitalization, as it makes content difficult to read and is not communicated to assistive technology users.
Styling for bold, italic, and underlines: Use style sheets to give content bold (strong), italic (emphasis), and underline attributes. Do not use font attributes.
Highlighting plus an attribute: Highlighting alone is considered using color alone and is not communicated to assistive technology users. To make it accessible, add an attribute.
Limit flashing or blinking: Avoid having flashing or blinking content or images, as that can cause seizures.
Remove extra paragraph returns: Limit adding manual returns to add space; instead, use Styles to increase line spacing.
Adjust line justification: Lines should be left justified. Using fully justified or centered lines creates unequal spacing between words and is difficult to read.
Avoid drop caps: Drop caps create challenges in reading comprehension and when documents are converted to PDFs.