Accessible web writing

by Rani Milne

Writing accessible web content is highly important – especially for the 1 in 5 Australians with a disability that affects their access to the internet. These days there are legislative and corporate requirements that sites meet global standard accessibility guidelines developed by the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).

WAI's web content accessibility guidelines version 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) were recommended in December 2008 and are currently being adopted throughout Australian government and private organisations.

That's probably enough acronyms. Basically, these guidelines are very helpful, but they are also extensive and sometimes quite wordy. The following summary will outline how to address accessibility when it comes to writing for the web.

Alt text

Because vision-impaired people can't actually see an image on your site it is imperative that you provide alt text with all images. Your alt text should capture the intent behind the image as much as possible, so that the effect that you create with your image is in some way transferred to someone who is viewing your website with a screenreader. For example, at its most basic, consider the difference between the words 'logo' and 'Rani Writes logo' in the alt text.

Headings

Headings should be descriptive and meaningful. Everyone should be able to get a real and accurate sense of what is on the page based on the heading. This does not mean that the heading needs to be an essay, just a few carefully chosen, familiar words.

Subheadings

Breaking up long pieces of text with subheadings is a useful accessibility tool, as well as providing a more enjoyable web experience for every user.

Links

The words that you use as your hyperlinks should clarify the purpose of that link. If you can clarify the intent of the link within the sentence that is good, if you can do it with the link text alone that is a AAA rating from WCAG 2.0.

Clear text

Write as clearly, concisely and objectively as possible. Avoid using unusual words, jargon, abbreviations, acronyms and complex sentences.

When you start thinking about these accessibility guidelines for your web writing you will not only provide invaluable assistance to anyone with a disability – everyone will benefit from a clean, efficient and effective site.

To find out more about accessible web writing, visit the W3C website (external link) or feel free to contact Rani Writes.