Accessibility Checklist

Use this checklist to create accessible course materials. Keep in mind that accessible design benefits everyone regardless of one’s need for accommodation.

For visual design guidelines for users with specific disabilities you might appreciate The Dos and Don’ts of Designing for Accessibility posters.

Organizing content

  • Organize content under headings and subheadings using built-in tools and styles rather than font weight or color.
  • Headings and subheadings should be nested sequentially (e.g., Heading 1, Heading 2).
  • Use bulleted lists for grouping items and numbered lists for steps in a process.

Fonts

  • Choose accessible fonts.
  • Use 12 pt font size or higher for document body text and 9 pt for footnotes or endnotes.
  • Use 18 pt font size or larger for presentations and slides.
  • Make sure font size can be enlarged by 200 percent in webbook or ebook formats without needing to scroll side to side..

Images

  • Include alternative text (alt text) descriptions for images and graphics that convey information, describing the image’s content or function. Alt text for graphs, charts, and maps should offer contextual or supporting details for the text surrounding the image.
  • Images that are purely decorative do not need alt text descriptions. They may be marked as decorative.
  • Images such as graphs and charts should not rely on color to convey information.

Links

  • The link text describes the destination of the link and does not use generic text such as “click here” or “read more.”
  • Write effective link text that makes sense independent of the content around it.
  • Include a textual reference (e.g., [PDF]) in the link information if it will open or download a file (like a Powerpoint or Excel file).
  • Avoid having links open in new windows or tabs. If a link must open in a new window or tab, a textual reference is included in the link information (e.g., [NewTab]).

Tables

  • Use tables to organize data with logical relationships and avoid using them for layouts and avoid using tables for layout purposes.
  • Add row and column headers.
  • Include a caption.

Multimedia

  • Include a transcript for all audio when possible.
  • Include captions for videos.
  • Describe all videos with contextual visuals (graphs, charts, etc.) audibly in the video.
  • Avoid using autoplay for videos and carousels.

Formulas

  • Write equations in plain text use proper symbols (i.e., −, ×, ÷).[1]
  • Write complex equations using one of these options:
    • LaTeX rendered with MathJax (Pressbooks).
    • Microsoft Word’s equation editor.
    • Presented as images with alternative text descriptions.
  • Write equations so they are properly interpreted by text-to-speech tools.[2]

General

  • Give content a descriptive and unique title. Write in plain language.
  • Do not use color alone to differentiate information.
  • Ensure sufficient color contrast.
  • Simplify design to limit distractions
  • Ensure plenty of white space using page breaks, columns and text spacing tools rather than manually using spaceball, tab, or return keys.
  • Avoid using all caps for text other than acronyms

Testing Accessibility

  • Accessibility checkers are automated tools built-in to many platforms that check for common accessibility issues. They are not to be considered a guarantee of accessibility. Use in tandem with this checklist.

Resources for specific platforms

* Accessibility Toolkit – 2nd Edition by BCcampus is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

* Accessibility Handbook for Teaching and Learning by Briana Fraser and Luke McKnight is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.