“Born accessible”
Making things accessible doesn’t have to be difficult or cumbersome, but fixing inaccessible things is going to require some of your time. This guide focuses on some common day-to-day tasks. It includes resources to help you fix inaccessible materials, but ultimately aims to help you make content that is “born accessible” so there’s no need to fix it later.
PRO TIP: If your original source document (ie. in Word or docs) follows accessibility best practices there’s a very good chance you’ll be able to preserve those accessible features when content is copied and pasted elsewhere.
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Alt Text for Complex Images/ Data Visuals
When you add a complex image or data visualization, include a two-part alternative text description: short and long. […]Read More…
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Alternative (Alt) text
You chose that picture for a reason. Provide description for your images and graphics so blind users can benefit from them too. […]Read More…
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Color contrast
Make sure you have enough contrast between your background color and text. […]Read More…
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Documents (mathematical, scientific)
Academic papers and course documents are subject to the same accessibility requirements as websites if they’re distributed digitally. Many mathematical and scientific documents include notation and/or charts and graphs that aren’t readily accessible to tools like screen readers (for a variety of reasons). […]Read More…
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Documents (PDF)
The PDF format was created to preserve formatting in print documents. PDFs created from scanned or inaccessible documents are nothing more than full-page pictures of text. They need to be “tagged” in order to make them accessible. […]Read More…
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Documents (Word, Docs)
Electronic documents (including those that people can download from your site or Canvas) are subject to the same accessibility requirements as websites. […]Read More…
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Documents: PDF from InDesign
Electronic documents created with InDesign and saved and shared as PDFs are subject to the same accessibility requirements as websites. InDesign does not automatically create an accessible PDF (also called a tagged pdf), but Adobe has tools that will help you get there. […]Read More…
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Graphics with text
When a graphic is distributed as an image (ie. formats like JPEG, PDF, PNG) any text that is part of the graphic becomes hidden from assistive technology and also may shrink to an unreadable size on smaller screens. […]Read More…
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Heading hierarchy
Use your word processor’s styles to create headings, and structure your page like an outline. […]Read More…
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How to: Color contrast checker
We like the WebAIM color contrast checker because it includes an eyedropper tool that lets you sample colors from a graphic or image before you upload it to the web. […]Read More…
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How to: Keyboard navigation
Checking that a page can be navigated without a mouse is one of the easiest accessibility tests you can do. It ensures that people who need to – or prefer to – navigate the web with their keyboard can get to the functionalities they need. […]Read More…
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How to: Screen readers
How to activate a screen reader on your computer, phone or tablet, plus our favorite screen reader cheat sheet. […]Read More…
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Link text
Link text should describe where the link leads. […]Read More…
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List formatting
A group of more than two related items is presented in paragraph form, separated by commas or is presented as a list but not marked up (coded) as a list. […]Read More…
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Spreadsheets
Crowded data in spreadsheet cells is hard to read. […]Read More…
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Tables
If you don’t use meaningful language and set your top row as a header, a screen reader user will quickly lose all context for your data. […]Read More…
Find more tools and guidance at accessibility.umich.edu, the university’s repository for digital accessibility knowledge.