Alt Descriptions
Most content management systems (CMSs) out there will let you enter alternative description text for each image you upload to your website. This text should describe the image and will be used by screen readers to offer context for visitors might not be able to see that image. As a bonus, alt descriptions are also “read” by search engines. So while we don’t recommend stuffing them full of keywords, they do count towards your SEO performance.
Keep descriptive text succinct and to the point. Think about the main point the image is trying to make, the context it’s adding. Then write a short phrase communicating just that.
You might want to use different descriptive text for the same image when it’s used on different pages on your website. This is true if the context an image is adding is sufficiently different on each page. For more complex images, like infographics, a short description text likely won’t do. In this case, including a longer written description of the infographic as part of your page’s content is likely to be most appropriate. You might find that having to write a longer text-based explanation of a complex images is a wonderful communications exercise. Now you can talk about that information in a well-phrased way even when the image isn’t available. This will also be a win-win for all audiences. Sighted visitors might benefit from the written explanation of the infographic as well.
Check out our list of curated accessibility tools for content managers for great alt text guides and examples.
Don’t embed text
It is such a popular approach to add text to an image, especially for social media posts. But these images often end up being used on your website as well. Perhaps you’re hosting an event and have a graphic with all the relevant information. Alas, that information will only be available to sighted audience members unless it’s also presented as actual text outside of that image.
When it comes to your website, we recommend that you simply don’t embed text in images. All the information you’re communicating with embedded text is likely already shared in actual text format anyways. And if it isn’t, then it won’t be available to all of your website visitors so, it will need to be added.
This will also keep your visuals from becoming overwhelming, especially when they’re attached to posts and viewed as a grid of list.
An exception to this is if the text you’re embedding is largely for style or decoration, rather than being informative.
Video & audio
When creating interactive media like video and audio, it’s important to remember that not all audiences will be able to see or hear them. These days, the prevalence of video content on social media has made adding captions to videos a standard practice. And each platform has its own method for adding captions – from TikTok to Instagram to YouTube to Canva. If you’re uploading videos to multiple platforms, you don’t have to add captions on each platform individually. Just add caption on one of these platforms and download the video with captions to use elsewhere.
In addition to captions, providing descriptive transcripts (for both video and audio content) within the body of the page where you embed them will allow your content to be inclusive of audience members who use Braille displays.
When presenting video and audio content, offer alternative ways for audiences to consume that content. This is also helpful to audience members who are experiencing permanent and temporary accessibility needs. Some might simply not have headphones handy and don’t want to wake up a sleeping partner or child, but do care about your cause.
An exception to this recommendation is when there is already an alternative way to consume your content. For example, if a how-to video appears on a page that already has a written version of the steps it describes. Then you can simply add a quick note saying that the video describes the same steps.
Animations
Finally, it’s not always about offering alternative ways to engage with your multimedia content. Considering the needs of audiences that can engage with that content is also part of making it accessible. While animations are extremely popular in web design these days, they could make folks who are sensitive to movement quite sick.
Depending on how your website is setup, your CMS might give you control for element animations. In this case, make sure that the animation isn’t longer than 5 seconds and nothing flashes more than 3 times per second. Most animations that happen while a visitor scrolls down a page wouldn’t last longer than this anyways.
Additionally, if an embedded element (like a video) is longer than 5 seconds, there needs to be a way to pause or stop the animation. This means that even if an embed allows you to hide playback controls, to be accessible, you should still show them.
Your turn
Working with multimedia content is truly the most labour-intensive when it comes to accessibility but very much worthwhile. Accounting and planning for this work ahead of time will ensure that your campaigns stay on time and are optimized for impact. Once you start experimenting with captions and transcription services, writing alt text, and relying on text content to communicate important information – all of these will become second nature.
Read our accessibility guides
We’ve created a series of guides to help you create content that’s optimized for varied and wide audiences:
- How to structure and write content for accessibility
- Accessible layout & design considerations for content managers
- How to make your links accessible
- Accessibility tools for content managers
You can also take all of our accessibility guides with you in form of a PDF:
Download Our Accessibility Checklist for Content Managers
Of course, if you’d like a bit of help, we offer accessibility auditing, training, and on-going support services.