Creating Accessible Content
Digital accessibility is the practice of creating (or obtaining) and disseminating digital content that is usable by all students, employees and other stakeholders of St. Joseph’s University. Digital accessibility makes websites and digital content accessible to users with auditory, cognitive, neurological, physical, speech and visual impairments, both temporary and permanent. In addition, digital accessibility is beneficial for users limited by the size of the screen they are using to access the material, by the environment they are in when accessing material (i.e. bright sunlight or not able to listen to audio), or by a limited internet connection.
When creating content, there are a few basic steps that should be followed in order to assure your content is accessible. The core steps needed for accessibility are the same regardless of whether your document is in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Adobe PDF, or another document format:
Use headings styles
Use built in bulleted or numbered lists
Use meaningful link text for hyperlinks
Add alternate text to images
Use tables wisely and use column/row headers
Select one of the accessibility guides below to apply these concepts to the particular type of document you are working on.