{
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    "title" : "Best Practices for Writing for the Accessible Web |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Best Practices for Writing for the Accessible Web",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/best-practices-writing-for-accessible-web/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Best Practices for Writing for the Accessible Web","deck" : "","summary" : "Tips for making online information accessible for those with auditory and visual needs.","date" : "2020-07-02T14:00:00-05:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"ryan-johnson" : "Ryan Johnson"},"topics" : {
        
            "accessibility" : "Accessibility",
            "design" : "Design",
            "digital-service-delivery" : "Digital service delivery"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"best-practices-writing-for-accessible-web.md",
      
      "filepath" :"resources/best-practices-writing-for-accessible-web.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/resources/best-practices-writing-for-accessible-web.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/resources/best-practices-writing-for-accessible-web.md","slug" : "best-practices-writing-for-accessible-web","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/best-practices-writing-for-accessible-web/","aliases" : {"0" : "/resources/best-practices-for-writing-for-accessible/"},"content" :"\u003cp\u003eWhen developing accessible content, authors need to think about how users will access and engage with content both visually or auditorily. By considering the following ways to create accessible content, you can enhance the way content is searched, used, and accessed. Here are some important Do’s and Don’ts to help you think about creating accessible content.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"images\"\u003eImages\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDO\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThink about the image\u0026rsquo;s strategic purpose. Ask yourself, \u0026ldquo;Is this visual pertinent to the overall purpose of the presentation, email, document, or site?\u0026rdquo;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdd alt text to describe your images.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDON\u0026rsquo;T\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdd an image just for decorative purposes.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"headers\"\u003eHeaders\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDO\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse headers thoughtfully. They identify significant prompts for readers.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDON\u0026rsquo;T\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAssume users will understand the importance of text.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"emails\"\u003eEmails\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDO\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWrite out the full text of the email so they can be read by screen readers.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDON\u0026rsquo;T\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShare screenshots of text. Screen readers will process these as photos and be unable to read the text.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"urls\"\u003eURLs\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDO\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOffer descriptive links with context of what is being shared.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse visual cues, such as changing the link\u0026rsquo;s colors and underlining.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDON\u0026rsquo;T\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse language, such as “click here” or “link,” when referencing the URL.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eList the full URL when inserting the link into content.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"animations\"\u003eAnimations\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDO\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStick to an easily scrollable format.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse static images.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDON\u0026rsquo;T\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse gifs or parallax features to avoid visual strain.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"color-contrast\"\u003eColor Contrast\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDO\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComply to color contrast guidelines.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eConsider the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) \u003ca href=\"https://designsystem.digital.gov/design-tokens/color/overview/#color-and-accessibility\"\u003ecolor pairings\u003c/a\u003e when building a website.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDON\u0026rsquo;T\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse colors that are too close together.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"pdfs\"\u003ePDFs\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDO\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreate PDF files via word processors.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRun tests to check the accessibility of the images and text in the file.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDON\u0026rsquo;T\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse scanned PDFs where text is not able to be highlighted or be read via screen readers.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"additional-considerations\"\u003eAdditional Considerations\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThinking about accessibility goes well beyond simply making sure content is readable by screen readers and meeting color contrast requirements. Instead, you need to take a critical view to your content to determine if the information is being shared appropriately, so readers can understand and easily review the content.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs content creators, we need to think about the purpose and mission, not just of individual components of a digital content, but how these components fit together to optimize the user experience for everyone, especially for those with accessible needs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor more information on how you can create accessible web development, \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/event/2020/03/20/writing-for-accessible-web/\"\u003ewatch this presentation\u003c/a\u003e from 18F Content Strategist, Ryan Johnson.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
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