A Guide to Digital Accessibility
Let’s be real: as digital communicators, we spend a lot of time obsessing over "the vibe." We want our websites to pop, our graphics to sizzle, and our copy to sing. But here’s the thing—if your "vibe" isn't accessible, you’re essentially throwing a massive party and forgetting to unlock the front door.
Digital accessibility isn't just a legal "must-have" or a dry technical checklist; it’s about empathy, inclusion, and making sure your brilliant content actually reaches everyone.
Ready to make your corner of the internet a little more welcoming? Let’s dive into the basics!
1. Contrast is Your Best Friend
We all love a subtle, aesthetic pastel-on-pastel moment, but if your text is whispering instead of shouting, people are going to miss it. High contrast (like dark text on a light background) ensures that folks with low vision or color blindness—and even people staring at their phones in bright sunlight—can actually read what you’ve written.
Quick Tip: Use a contrast checker tool to ensure your text-to-background ratio is at least 4.5:1.
2. Alt-Text: Painting Pictures with Words
Screen readers can’t "see" that hilarious meme or that stunning infographic you just posted. That’s where Alt-Text (Alternative Text) comes in. It’s a short, written description of an image that allows everyone to understand the context.
Bad Alt-Text: "Image123.jpg"
Good Alt-Text: "A fluffy orange cat wearing tiny sunglasses and sitting on a surfboard."
3. Use Header Tags (H1, H2, H3) Like a Pro
Headers aren't just for making text big and bold—they create the "skeleton" of your page. Screen reader users often navigate by jumping from header to header to find the info they need.
H1 is for your title.
H2 is for your main sections.
H3 is for sub-points. Keep them in order! Skipping from an H1 to an H4 is like reading a book where the chapters are out of sequence. Confusing, right?
4. Choose Fonts That Breathe
We all love a quirky script or a futuristic geometric font, but readability should always come first. Stick to clean, sans-serif or simple serif fonts. Avoid "walls of text" and give your letters some room to breathe with decent line spacing. If it looks like a jumbled bowl of alphabet soup, it’s time to simplify.
5. Don’t Let Color Do All the Heavy Lifting
Color is a great tool for emphasis, but it shouldn't be your only tool. If you say "Click the green button to submit," someone who is colorblind might see two identical gray buttons.
The Fix: Use labels, icons, or underlines alongside color. Instead of just a red border for an error message, add a little "!" icon or the word "Error."
🚀 Bonus Tips for the Accessibility All-Star:
Descriptive Links: Instead of "Click here," try "Download the Accessibility Guide PDF." It gives the user context before they click.
Mind the Caps: AVOID WRITING ENTIRE SENTENCES IN ALL CAPS. Screen readers sometimes read them letter-by-letter (A-V-O-I-D...), which is... a... bit... slow.
Caption Your Video Content: Whether it’s a Reel for @wallflower.travels or a professional webinar, captions are a game-changer for the D/deaf community and the "watching-videos-on-the-bus-without-headphones" community alike.
Making your site accessible doesn't mean it has to be boring. It just means you’re designing with everyone in mind—and that’s the best kind of digital communication there is.
