These tips will help you design, write, and share content so that everyone, regardless of ability, can access your materials
Explore ten key tips to help create accessible digital content.
By adding alternative text, users who are blind or have low vision can access the information within the image.
Alternative text should include all of the information you want your audience to have from the image, including all text within the image.
Use built-in heading styles to create a clear hierarchy that reflects your document’s structure, much like an outline.
The title should use a Level 1 Heading (there should only be one per document). Level 2 Headings divide main sections, while Levels 3–6 break those sections into smaller parts as needed. These can be found within Word under Home > Styles.
Don’t rely on color alone to convey meaning or emphasis.
If using color for emphasis (e.g., red text), also apply another visual cue such as bold, italics, or an asterisk (*).
Follow the “color plus one” rule—pair color with another distinguishing feature.
Check the color contrast between text and background using a contrast tool to ensure readability.
Avoid busy or patterned backgrounds, as they can distract from the text.
Avoid pasting in a long, random URL by creating hyperlinks with custom text. This improves usability, accessibility, appearance, and increases the likelihood that a user will interact with your link.
When writing custom text for your hyperlink, you should also avoid phrases that are not descriptive like “read more” or “click here.” The best hyperlink text concisely conveys the link destination and makes sense when read out of context.
URLs should be provided along with QR codes, and a URL shortener should be used if possible.
In order for a table to have basic accessibility it needs to be simply designed, and in most platforms should only have one column header and/or one row header.
For more information specific to the platform you are creating a table in check out the resources below:
NOTE: It is recommended to avoid tables in PowerPoint if possiblePDFs should have text that is highlightable and searchable using Ctrl+F or Command+F.
If exporting to a PDF, ensure you do so in a way that allows for the text to be hightlightable. In Word, this can be done by saving as or exporting to PDF rather than printing to PDF. In Canva, ensure you do not select the flatten PDF option, as this turns the PDF into an image.
More Information: Ole Miss Digital Accessibility for PDFs
Although there is no definite rule about font size, there are some basic guidelines to help ensure that your font will be easily readable:
