Six Essential Steps to Digital Accessibility for Course Materials

1. Use Built-In Heading Styles to Organize Content

• Structure content with real heading* styles (H1, H2, H3) rather than manually bolding or enlarging text.
• Never skip a level going down: H2 nests under H1, H3 under H2. It's fine to skip back up (H4 to H2).
• Every page or document starts with one H1; headings are descriptive (provide details about the content in each section), concise and never placed inside an image.
• Content flows in a logical reading order that matches the visual layout, top to bottom, left to right.

2. Ensure Links Are Descriptive and Meaningful

• Link text describes the destination (“Week 3 reading guide,” not “click here” or “learn more”).
• Links to files or downloads are labeled as such (e.g., “syllabus (PDF)”).
• Links do not open in a new tab/window unless the link text says so.
• Multiple links to the same destination use the same text; links to different destinations use different text.
• Login-required pages are labeled as such.

3. Use Sufficient Color and Contrast for Readability

• Text contrast is at least 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large or bold text (18pt+/14pt+ bold).
• Color is never the only way meaning is conveyed: a color-coded key or chart also has text or pattern labels.
• Graphics and UI (user interface) elements that convey meaning have at least 3:1 contrast against their background.
• Contrast is checked with a tool such as the WebAIM Contrast Checker before publishing. Watch this short How-To Video on how to use the contrast checker.

4. Include Alternative Text for All Images

• Every informative image has concise, descriptive alt text (roughly 100–125 characters or less).
• Purely decorative images are marked decorative or given empty alt text, not skipped entirely.
• Alt text doesn't start with “image of” or repeat the file name, and doesn't just duplicate a caption.
• Text is never embedded inside an image, flyer, or infographic as screen readers can't read it. Use real text with a supporting graphic instead.
• Charts and graphs have labeled axes/legends and are also available as a data table or described in nearby text.

5. Format Tables Properly for Screen Reader Navigation

• Tables are used only for real tabular data, never for page layout or to fake columns.
• Tables have clearly labeled header rows/columns, set as actual header cells in Table Properties (not just bolded text).
• No merged or split cells, and no empty cells used purely for spacing (use “n/a” or “none” instead). Merged cells can be grouped with a column/row heading. 
• Complex tables are broken into smaller, simpler tables where possible.
• Table captions are placed above the table (this differs from images, where captions go below).

6. Provide Captions and Transcripts for Media (Audio & Video)

• All pre-recorded videos have accurate closed captions; auto-generated captions are reviewed and corrected to at least 99% accuracy.
• A transcript is provided for audio-only content (podcasts, recorded lectures).
• Important visual information not covered in narration is described, via audio description or a supplementary text description.
• Neither audio nor video autoplays; nothing on screen flashes more than three times per second.
• Live sessions (Zoom lectures, webinars) have live captioning enabled.

Resources and References