Content Creator Essentials
Content Creators can apply accessibility essentials regardless of which platform you work on.
Whether you are sending an email, writing a document, managing a web page, or reviewing a Canvas course, these essentials can help you make your content accessible and ensure your message comes through clearly to your audience.
In this page:
Content Creator Trainings
Digital Accessibility Services (DAS) offers a Digital Accessibility for Content Creators course that covers these essentials. There are two options for taking the course: instructor-led or self-paced in the Harvard Training Portal.
1. Titles and Headings
Are they unique and descriptive? Do they provide a hierarchical structure?
Headings and Titles are style elements that may be applied to sections of text to provide structural information about the content. It is like creating an outline for your document or web page. They will be invaluable for people using screen readers, while also assisting your sighted users and boosting your Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Titles
- Web page titles should be unique and descriptive.
- They will appear in the browser tab for the website.
Guidance: Writing Web Page Titles
"Domino's Menu" is the page title.
Headings
- Use the styles panel to apply headings.
- Use only one H1 (Heading Level 1) per webpage or document.
- Use in hierarchical order: H1, H2, H3, H4, etc.
- Avoid skipping heading levels.
Guidance: Writing and Identifying Headings
2. Readability
Is the language clear, and does the layout reduce cognitive load?
- Use plain language.
- Avoid jargon and figures of speech.
- Define acronyms on first use.
- Keep paragraphs short and use lists where possible to support scanning and understanding.
- Use tables for data, not for page layout.
Guidance: Design for Readability
3. Links
Are links easy to find in the text? Are they descriptive of where the link goes or what may happen if clicked?
- Write clear, unique link text so that the user knows where the link is going.
- Make sure links are distinct from other text, using both color and underline.
- Link text should make sense outside of context, screen reader users may pull up a list of just links on the page.
Guidance: Write Helpful Links
4. Color
Does the text have enough contrast, and is color NOT the only way of conveying meaning?
Color Contrast
- Choose a text color that provides a high level of contrast against the background.
- The standard for web accessibility is a ratio between the two colors of 4.5:1.
- Avoid light text on a light background or dark text on dark background.
Guidance: Use Sufficient Color Contrast
Color for Meaning
- Avoid using color as the only indicator of meaning or information.
- Use an additional element to convey information, such as shape differences or text labels.
- Consider how you are using color to convey information.
Guidance: Avoid reliance on color
5. Alternative Text
Do all meaningful images have a descriptive text alternative?
- Alt text is read by screen reader software, and displays on the page if the image fails to load.
- Alt text should not just describe the image, but provide context on how the image relates to the page content.
- Keep it simple, helpful & descriptive.
Guidance: Write Helpful Alt Text
6. Multimedia
Do audio and video multimedia have appropriate alternatives?