This web accessibility guide is intended as a quick cheat sheet for website admins and contributors to ensure the content they create for their websites is in the best possible format to meet WCAG 2 standards.
This is not a definitive list for developers or website designers.
Provide text alternatives for any non-text content so that it can be changed into other forms people need – such as large print, braille, speech, symbols or simpler language.
Provide alternatives for time-based media – is it possible to pause and stop video content for example?
Create content that can be presented in different ways (for example simpler layout) without losing information or structure.
Provide users enough time to read and use content. Anything that moves – ensure it leaves enough time to read it before moving on.
If including a video that you would like to set to autoplay, make sure that video is muted. Some browsers don’t play unmuted autoplaying videos, and it can also lead to a higher bounce rate from the website as users don’t like to be shocked by a loud video suddenly playing.
Do not design content in a way that is known to cause seizures or physical reactions.
Provide ways to help users navigate, find content, and determine where they are. This includes site maps, crumb trails and sticky menus.
Make Web pages appear and operate in predictable ways.
Help users avoid and correct mistakes – this includes flagging mistakes in form fields in red for example.
Use captions on video content. To reach AAA standards you should also include sign language to accompany video content.
No flashes (or fewer than three per minute)
Page titles should very clearly describe what to expect on the page.
If there is a specific order to read something in, in order for it to make sense, make sure the order is clearly marked.
Make sure titles and text all use colours with a good contrast compared to the colour of the background to make sure it is easy to read. For example, don’t use light grey text on a white background or grey text on an image background.
Hyperlinked text should clearly indicate to a user what they can expect when they click on it. E.g. ‘Read the Report’ rather than ‘Click here’.
Make sure images are included at their correct proportions and aren’t distorted or stretched.
Don’t post images that include overlaid text, this is bad as some users won’t be able to read that text, and it’s also bad for SEO as search engines can’t read the text either!
If content can be a page or a post, publish it in that way so that users can navigate it more easily, it works better on mobile and because if it’s on-site content, rather than an external PDF, users can make use of the accessibility tools the website offers.
Get in touch with our team for any questions about the WCAG 2.1 requirements. For more posts about website accessibility, check out our recent blog on website PDF’s.
This post was created on 23rd November 2020 Under the category Blog