Users with disabilities access the web in a variety of ways. Many use assistive technology such as screen readers or eye tracking software which present information on web pages differently to the way a browser does.
These tips can help you make the content of your web pages easier to access for people with a range of disabilities, and will also improve your content for all users.
The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is an international organisation promoting web accessibility and its Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) are widely considered an international standard. They are based around four guiding principles. Web content must be:
These POUR principles can be translated into tasks which are straightforward for you and really help your users.
One simple first step is, where possible, to use the
Web CMS or the University’s Dreamweaver template to create web pages, as
the template and
colourschemes have already been tested for accessibility. This will give you a framework, and you will then be able to focus on making your content accessible.
Ensure that each piece of text in a web page is styled according to its meaning, eg as a heading, table or paragraph. It helps readers quickly grasp what is in the document.
For more advice and information, please see the ‘Writing for the web’ training course
Providing content in Flash, video or audio format alone may make content inaccessible for some users.
Check that your linked documents are accessible, too.
IT Services provides guidance on producing accessible pdf files with supported software. The Adobe website contains more information on creating accessible pdfs with Acrobat Pro.
Screen readers can have problems reading out slides: use the built-in templates and properly format the content with headings, text and lists.
The Web Office can check that your site is working for its users by running user testing on your behalf. Please contact us to find out more.
Who to contact
- The Web Office can help with queries about the accessibility of web content. Contact 01904 324127, email@example.com
- The E-Learning Development Team can advise on teaching and learning material and content that's held in the VLE.
- Disability Services provides general advice on supporting students with disabilities. Contact