Ep7. Accessible first thinking

The Web Usability Podcast

summary

In this episode, Lucy Collins and her team discuss the importance of accessibility in various digital spaces, including websites, mobile apps, forms, office documents, PDFs, emails, e-learning, social media, and intranets. They emphasise the need to consider accessibility in all digital content and highlight the impact it can have on improving the user experience for everyone. The team provides practical tips and considerations for creating accessible content in each of these spaces.

keywords

accessibility, digital spaces, websites, mobile apps, forms, office documents, PDFs, emails, e-learning, social media, intranets

takeaways

• Accessibility is important in all digital spaces, not just websites.
• Improving accessibility benefits people with disabilities and improves the user experience for all users.
• Mobile apps should be built with accessibility in mind, considering factors like orientation, target size, responsiveness, and keyboard operability.
• Forms should be designed with clear instructions, expectations, and error messaging to ensure usability for all users.
• Office documents, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files, should follow accessibility guidelines, such as using proper heading structure, plain language, and relevant alt text for images.
• PDFs should be avoided if possible, but if necessary, they should be created from accessible Word documents and checked for accessibility using tools like Adobe Acrobat Pro.
• Emails should have descriptive link text, proper heading structure, and readable font sizes and styles.
• Social media content should include alt text for images, use camel case for hashtags, and avoid relying on emojis to convey important information.
• E-learning should consider different learning styles and provide alternative routes for users with different accessibility needs.
• Intranets should be accessible for internal staff, as they play a crucial role in efficient work and service delivery.
• Adopting an accessibility-first mentality in all digital content creation will lead to better usability and inclusivity.

titles

• Designing Usable Forms
• Writing Accessible Emails

Sound Bites

• "Accessibility should be a basic human right."
• "Apps are more important for disabled users."
• "Check your documents with the accessibility checker before sending or publishing."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview

02:34 Building Accessible Mobile Apps

04:26 Designing Usable Forms

08:09 Creating Accessible Office Documents

10:57 Avoiding Inaccessible PDFs

12:44 Writing Accessible Emails

16:58 Ensuring Accessibility in Social Media

22:26 Considerations for Accessible E-Learning

26:07 Making Intranets Accessible

30:23 Adopting an Accessibility-First Mentality