Accessibility

Content

Make sure all videos have captions.

Include meaningful alt text for images, icons, and controls. If it’s text meant to be read, don’t put it in an image.

When a label is used multiple times on the same screen (Edit, Learn, more). You can also provide screen-reader-only text to clarify.

Create text alternatives for charts and graphs. A cool way to do this is to include a data table near the chart.

Don’t refer to color, or where elements are on a screen.

Color and contrast

Check your contrast. Is there enough between foreground text and background color?

Linked text should stand out from body text.

Focus indicators should be highly visible on fields and all interactions.

Don’t use color alone to indicate status. Include icons with text to make things clear.

Typography

Font face, size, and weight are all elements to consider when designing for readability and legibility.

Keep in mind that some low vision people use screen magnifiers, or zoom in to enlarge text and make things easier to read.

Interactions and targets

Make sure interactions are well-separated and easy to hit.

Keep screens feeling “light” – don’t make them overly dense.

Targets on mobile

Make sure everything is thumb-able.

Targets should have a minimum height, width of 48px and have enough space between them.

Touch targets should be visually identifiable. Is it clear what to do next?

Forms

Make sure fields labels persist and are visible when the focus is inside the field.

Labels, tooltips, and input fields should appear in the right keyboarding tab order.

Present errors clearly, use an element in addition to color and tie to the right field.

Watch out for field validation and when it happens.

Readability

Keep content clear and easy to read–and listen to. Remember that when someone is using a screen reader, the content is spoken aloud.

Present only the info users needs, and only when they need it.

Keep sentences simple. Aim for 5th to 8th grade readability.

Use images to support content. Illustrations and graphs can clarify complex concepts.

Info hierarchy and layout

Make page titles unique and informative.

Keep heading styles consistent. Use typography and styles to provide meaning and structure.

Make sure the correct HTML is used (H1, H2, etc.), so that screen readers can easily interact with the page structure.

Use headings, sub-headings, and bullet points to make content easy to scan.

Make sure things work well enough across platforms, browsers, and devices–different assistive technologies work better in some areas than others.

Try to be platform agnostic.

Don’t dictate the technologies a user has to use.