Digital Accessibility Initiative

Top Tips: Best practices

• Include alt-text on all images that convey meaning

  • • Alt text is a written description of what an image looks like that blind and low-vision people can use with the help of screen-reader software.

• Make sure that headings are used correctly 

  • • Headings aren't just stylistic, they contain meaning about the hierarchy of information, and can be used by screen-readers to navigate a page.

• Make your hyperlinks descriptive

  • • Screen readers can scan through hyperlinks (text that can be clicked as a link) to navigate a page, so be sure to have the text describe the destination, rather than ambiguous words like "click here."

    • For example, rather than writing "watch the cat video here," format it like "Watch the cat video." that way, a blind user knows the link is to a cat video, rather than just the word "here."

Best Practices

• Always turn on Closed Captions in any zoom meeting or webinar

  • • This allows participants to enable captions and transcripts without having to ask the host.

    • Closed captions have a wide range of benefits for people who are hard of hearing, non-native English speakers, and more.

• Keep side conversations in the public chat to a minimum

  • • Screen readers and neurodivergent people can be distracted or overwhelmed by following multiple streams of information.

• Include alt-text on all images and figures that convey meaning visually

  • • Alt text is a written description of what an image looks like that blind and low-vision people can use with the help of screen-reader software.

    • Learn more about how to add alt text and what to write here.

• Avoid encoding information in figures using only a single mode of communication

  • • For example, establish the identity of points on a graph using both color and shape, so that colorblind people can tell the difference. 

    • Likewise, summarize any key information that is presented in a visual figure via alt-text or captions.

Best practices

• Capitalize the first letter in each word of your multi-word hashtags

  • • The capital letters help a screen reader identify the separate words and allow it to pronounce the hashtag correctly. 

    • For example, the hashtag #superbowl could be read as both #SuperBowl or #SuperbOwl.

    • Learn more about using hashtags here.

• Keep your post formatting simple

  • • Compose social media content knowing it will be read left to right or right to left in a single column by assistive devices and programs.

    • In addition to spaces, tabs, and hard returns, assistive devices rely on punctuation marks and capital letters to identify individual words, phrases, and sentences. 

    • Learn more about formatting social media posts here.

• Use emojis in moderation

  • • Emojis have built-in alt text descriptions that are read by screen readers.

    • Put emoji at the end of your written content to avoid creating any clarity issues that could be caused by an icon's coded description interfering with the rest of your copy.

    • Learn more about using emoji here.

Best practices

• Capitalize the first letter in each word of your multi-word hashtags

  • • The capital letters help a screen reader identify the separate words and allow it to pronounce the hashtag correctly. 

    • For example, the hashtag #superbowl could be read as both #SuperBowl or #SuperbOwl.

    • Learn more about using hashtags here.