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Accessibility for web writers, part 2: Text alternatives for images
by Dey Alexander. Writing for the Web - Useful, usable, accessible. Web content that works, November 29th, 2010. "Whenever you use an image on a web page, you need to provide a text alternative—a text version of the information or function provided by the image—except when the image is purely decorative. Text alternatives are one of the most basic requirements for accessibility, but also one of the most misunderstood. Many websites have poor text alternatives..."
Further information on Accessibility for web writers, part 2: Text alternatives for images
Last updated: 23 December 201014
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- Abbreviations: accessibility for web writers, part 14
- Written by Dey Alexander. 4 Syllables, November 10, 2011. "We use abbreviations because they save time when talking and writing. However, some abbreviations are not widely used and may confuse users if you include them in your web content..."
Added: 22 December 2011
Rating: 0
- Accessibility for web writers, part 1: Introduction
- by Dey Alexander. Writing for the Web - Useful, usable, accessible. Web content that works, September 27th, 2010. "Some web writers may not know how much their work can affect accessibility. That needs to change. This is the introduction to a series of articles on accessibility for web writers. I'll be using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 as the basis of these articles, since they are the standards Australian websites must meet..."
Added: 23 December 2010
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- Accessibility for web writers, part 3
- by Dey Alexander. 4Syllables, February 28, 2011. "Web writers need to use HTML tags to identify certain types of information and relationships between information. For instance, headings need the appropriate heading tag because font size increases aren’t visible to everyone. Some blind people use software that reads out the headings. This gives them a sense of the document contents and structure—but it only works if heading tags are used..."
Added: 13 April 2011
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- Accessibility for web writers, part 4
- by Dey Alexander. 4 Syllables, March 22, 2011. "Do you ever write instructions like these? You must fill in the red form fields; Extra training materials are in the links on the right side of the page; The arrows pointing up take you back to the top of the page. Each relies on readers having certain sensory perceptions. 'Red' relies on colour perception. 'Right' relies on location perception. 'Up' relies on perception of orientation. Sometimes you might also write instructions that rely on shape (click the round button), size (copy the large headings) or sound (the beeping sound means...). Don't assume all users have all sensory perceptions..."
Added: 13 April 2011
Rating: 0
- Accessibility for web writers, part 5
- by Dey Alexander. 4 Syllables, April 27, 2011. "Not all web users can see or identify colours. About 8% of men and 0.5% of women are colourblind. Older people and those with partial sight may not see colours well either. And blind users who use screen readers to read web content may also miss out on colour information. As a web writer, you need to avoid creating content that relies on colour for meaning. For instance, you should avoid writing things like 'Required fields are in red' or 'error messages are shown in red'..."
Added: 28 April 2011
Rating: 0
- Contrast: accessibility for web writers, part 6
- by Dey Alexander. 4 Syllables, May 31, 2011. "People with low vision, age-related vision impairment or colour blindness can have problems reading text when there is not enough contrast between the text and background colours. If you publish content using templates that control text and background colours, you won’t have to worry about the contrast of your text. Your web designer or developer should have taken care of it. However, if you use images you should check that the contrast is adequate for any text or important information contained within them..."
Added: 2 June 2011
Rating: 0
- Headings and labels: accessibility for web writers, part 10
- by Dey Alexander. 4 Syllables, August 5, 2011. "Write descriptive headings, sub-headings and labels for content. This will help users understand what your content is about, decide if it is relevant and go directly to the information they are looking for. Descriptive headings and labels are important for people with disabilities. People who read slowly or have problems with short-term memory will benefit from well-labelled chunks of content, rather than having to take in an entire page or article. Vision impaired users of screen reading software will be able to skip to and read each heading to get the gist of the content. Those using screen magnifiers will also be able to get a quicker overview. Using meaningful headings and labels will also help your search engine ranking, particularly if you use keywords: the terms or phrases your users are likely to search with..."
Added: 23 August 2011
Rating: 0
- Images of text: accessibility for web writers, part 7
- Written by Dey Alexander, 4 Syllables, June 27, 2011. "Avoid using images of text on the web because some people will find them hard, if not impossible, to read. For instance, people with reading problems such as dyslexia may struggle to read certain fonts, line spacing or text alignment. If these are ‘hard-coded’ into an image, they cannot reformat the text into a more readable style..."
Added: 29 June 2011
Rating: 0
- Language of parts: accessibility for web writers, part 12
- by Dey Alexander. 4 Syllables. September 11, 2011. "If you use foreign language words or phrases in your content, you should identify them by using the appropriate language attribute in the markup for your page. This will ensure that: - Screen readers use the right pronunciation rules for the language; - Web browsers display the characters for the language properly. This is particularly important if the language uses a different alphabet or is read from right to left..."
Added: 9 November 2011
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- Link purpose: accessibility for web writers, part 9
- by Dey Alexander. 4 Syllables, July 25, 2011. "Write links that clearly describe their purpose or content. Meaningful links make content more usable. They usually stand out on a web page (as they’re a different colour and underlined), so anyone who can see the page can scan it and identify the linked content. Search engine optimisation experts tell us that meaningful links can improve search ranking, making content easier for users to find. Meaningful links are vital for making content more accessible to people with disabilities..."
Added: 28 July 2011
Rating: 0
- Page titles: accessibility for web writers, part 8
- by Dey Alexander. 4 Syllables, July 18, 2011. "Descriptive page titles help users find content, decide if it's relevant, orient themselves when they have multiple pages or tabs open, and re-find content using browser functions. Many web pages have poor page titles. PDF, Word and PowerPoint documents usually fare worst, with many having no title..."
Added: 28 July 2011
Rating: 0
- Section headings: accessibility for web writers, part 11
- by Dey Alexander. 4 Syllables, August 10, 2011. "Use headings to organise the sections or topics within an article or document. Headings break content into more manageable chunks, making a page or topic easier to use and understand. You can use visual elements (boxes, lines and so on) to complement headings, but you cannot rely on them as they will not be accessible to all users..."
Added: 23 August 2011
Rating: 0
- Text alternatives for images: a decision tree
- by Dey Alexander. Writing for the Web - Useful, usable, accessible. Web content that works. December 10, 2010. "To help web writers write better text alternatives for images, we've produced this decision tree. It asks three key questions. 1. What is the role of the image? 2. Does the image present new information? 3. What type of information is presented in the image?..."
Added: 23 December 2010
Rating: 0
- Unusual words: accessibility for web writers, part 13
- by Dey Alexander. 4 Syllables, October 19, 2011. "People with certain cognitive, language or learning disabilities may find it hard to understand your content if you use unusual words or use words in unusual ways. Jargon and idioms are the two examples of this type of language. Avoiding jargon and idioms will make your content more accessible—and not just to people with disabilities..."
Added: 9 November 2011
Rating: 0
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