--- meta-title: Accessibility title: Accessibility description: General guidelines for making your site and service accessible cta: "Imagine accidentally sitting on your glasses. Could you work without them? Would you be able to find and read information on the web? Now imagine breaking your arm: could you do everything you need to on your computer without a mouse or keyboard? Finally, imagine waking up tomorrow to discover you're blind: could you still do your job? Web accessibility is about making sure that we can all use websites and web applications, regardless of our abilities." filter-nav: false filter-dropdowns: false layout: static table-of-contents: true submenu: ux pagetype: meta-pattern location: accessibility.html --- {{#markdown}} #### How do I improve the accessibility of my service? To improve accessibility your site needs: - clear content, straightforward language and a clear, simple layout - good navigation and the ability to know where you are within a site - meaningful and clear hyperlinks Accessibility is not a bolt-on activity or after-thought, but a core part of our design activities. The way to achieve accessibility objectives is through a process of inclusive design: Inclusive Design is neither a new genre of design, nor a separate specialism. The following guidelines are grouped according to the 3 main phases of the design life cycle: 1. Research 2. Design 3. Evaluation The design requirements are summarised as an Accessibility infographic (see also here http://webaim.org/resources/designers/) ### 1. Research - Define the target audiences - The needs of target audiences ought to take precedence over the needs of other audiences. Defining a number of target audiences does not mean that everyone else is excluded; it just means that the requirements, design and testing activities will focus on these user groups as the most likely users of the web product. - Analyse the needs of the target audiences - Desk research into the general needs of the the website's or application's target audiences, taking special note of the general needs of disabled and older people. ### 2. Design #### Provide appropriate alternative text - Every non-text element needs a text alternative (alt text) that provides an equivalent to the image content. - Alt text should present the content and function, not necessarily a description, of an image. - If an image has no relevant content or function, is decorative, or the alternative text is provided in nearby text, then the image should have an empty alternative text value (alt=""). - If an image is a link (or hotspot), the alt text must describe the link's function. - Avoid words like "picture of," "image of," or "link to." - Use the fewest number of words necessary. - See: http://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/ #### Ensure content is well structured and clearly written - Use the simplest language appropriate for your content. - Organize your content using true headings (e.g. `

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