uhs-wordmark

Self-Guided Accessibility Learning

Benefits of Accessibility Remediation of Digital Electronic and Information Resources (EIRs)

Aside from the fact that making digital content accessible to individuals with disabilities helps the University achieve compliance with both federal and state laws, additional benefits include:

  1. Helping people with disabilities consume content fully.
  2. Avoiding legal complaints of possible discrimination.
  3. Reaching a wider audience with materials that are more modern.
  4. Increasing usability and Search Engine Optimization (SEO ensures a website appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine increasing possible visits).
  5. Supporting a higher-quality code base for your websites.
  6. Building a posted brand image with consistency (such as using accessible templates across the institution).

Creating Digital Content for EIR

Some key steps needed for accessibility are the same regardless of whether your document is in HTML, Microsoft Word, PDF, or another format:

  1. Make sure all text is readable (i.e. text-searchable and not just a scanned image) with the correct reading order.
  2. Use headings.
  3. Use formatted lists.
  4. Add alternate text to images.
  5. Identify document language.
  6. Use tables correctly (identify column and row headers, identify blank areas and do not split cells or merge cells except in the title area).
  7. Understand how to export from one format to another to keep accessible formats intact.

Below you will find application- or document-specific steps for creating accessible EIRs. Click the links under each application or file type to view best practices for creating accessible documents and how to check content for accessibility. Explore more articles containing accessibility-related topics.