Digital Accessibility Tips
Below is a list of 10 tips to remember when creating content within Pressbooks. Refer to additional sections of this resource for more details on the topics listed below.
10 Tips for Pressbooks Accessibility
- Meaningful Links: make link text meaningful by describing the content of the link’s destination.
- Alt Text: write Alt text for your images where required. Learn more about Alt text and when to use it.
- Images of Text: do not use images of text if you can use text. If you have text in your graphics, make sure the text is duplicated on the page or in social media text.
- Colour to convey meaning: avoid relying on colour or images to convey meaning.
- Colour Contrast: make sure your text is readable on the background using colours contrasting at least 4.5:1.
- PDFs: avoid using PDFs to share information. Create a webpage or provide an equivalent experience that is accessible, such as a Word document.
- Descriptive Headings: organize your content using descriptive headings, and use tables for data purposes, not as a layout tool.
- Flashy Content: avoid flashing, flickering, or scrolling content.
- Transcripts: make media accessible by providing transcripts to accompany audio or video
- Styles: keep your text readable by being conservative with colours, uppercase, italics, or bold text. Reserve underlines for links only.
ARIA Authoring Practices Guide (APG)
Coding Tips
The Accessible Rich Internet Application (ARIA) specification to create accessible web experiences. This guide describes how to apply accessibility semantics to common design patterns and widgets. It provides design patterns and functional examples complemented by in-depth guidance for fundamental practices.
University of Toronto. (n.d.). “Making Digital Information More Accessible.” Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Included under fair dealing. https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/educationcommons/digital-accessibility#:~:text=The%20requirements%20of%20WCAG%202.0,that%20all%20users%20can%20perceive.
