If you do nothing else, work on these five: headings, alt text, link text, color contrast, and lists.
Use Real Headings, In Order
Screen readers let users jump from heading to heading the way sighted users skim a page. That only works if you actually use heading styles — not just bold, large text.
- Use one Heading 1 (the page title) per page.
- Use Heading 2 for major sections, Heading 3 for sub-sections under those, and so on.
- Don't skip levels (don't jump from H2 to H4).
- Don't use a heading just to make text big; use it to mark a real section.
In Word and Google Docs, apply heading styles from the toolbar. In PowerPoint, use the slide layout's title placeholder rather than dropping in a text box. On webpages, the OmniUpdate editor has heading options in the format dropdown.
Write Meaningful Alt Text
Alt text is the description of an image that screen readers announce. It also displays if the image fails to load.
- Describe what the image communicates, not just what it depicts. The right alt text for a photo of a smiling student in a chemistry lab depends on whether the image illustrates a story about that student, or is a generic stock photo for a chemistry program page.
- Skip phrases like "image of," "picture of," or "graphic showing." Screen readers already announce that it's an image.
- If an image is purely decorative (a flourish, a divider, a background) mark it as
decorative or use empty alt text (
alt="") so screen readers skip it. - If an image contains important text (a flyer, an infographic), put that text in the body of the page or document. Don't rely on alt text alone for paragraphs of content.
Use Descriptive Link Text
Screen reader users often pull up a list of all the links on a page. A list of "click here, click here, learn more, read more, here" is useless. A list of "Spring 2027 registration dates, financial aid application, faculty directory" is genuinely navigable.
- Make the link text describe where the link goes.
- Avoid "click here," "read more," "learn more," and bare URLs as link text.
- If you have two links on the same page that go to different places, give them distinguishable text.
Better: Read the ADA Title II overview.
Worse: To read the ADA Title II overview, click here.
Check Color Contrast
Text needs enough contrast against its background for people with low vision (and anyone reading on a sunlit phone screen).
- WCAG 2.1 AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Don't rely on color alone to convey meaning. Don't say "items in red are required" — add an asterisk, the word "Required," or another non-color cue.
- Be careful with light gray on white, light text on photos, and brand colors that look fine in print but fail on screen.
Free contrast checkers are listed on the Tools and resources page.
Use Lists For Lists
If you have a series of related items, mark them up as a list. Don't fake a list by typing dashes, bullets, or numbers at the start of each line. Real lists tell screen readers "five items, here they come" — fake lists don't.
This applies in Word, in OmniUpdate, in email, everywhere. Use the bulleted-list or numbered-list button.
Use Tables Only For Data
Tables should be used for tabular data — rows and columns of related information that need to be read together (a course schedule, a fee chart, an office hours grid).
- Don't use tables to lay out a page or to put images next to text.
- Mark the top row (or left column, or both) as table headers so screen readers can announce them.
- Give the table a clear caption or surrounding text that explains what it shows.
- Keep tables simple. Avoid merged cells, tables-within-tables, and blank rows used for spacing.
Add Captions And Transcripts To Media
- Videos need accurate captions. Auto-generated captions are a starting point — review and correct them, especially for proper nouns, technical terms, and jargon.
- Audio-only content (podcasts, recorded announcements) needs a transcript.
- If a video conveys important visual information that isn't narrated (a silent demonstration, an on-screen chart that's never read aloud), add audio description or a text description on the page.
Write In Plain Language
Plain language helps everyone, and it especially helps people using screen readers, people with cognitive disabilities, and people whose first language isn't English.
- Put the most important information first.
- Prefer short sentences and common words.
- Spell out acronyms on first use.
- Break long pages into clear sections with descriptive headings (see above).
Make Sure It Works Without A Mouse
You can run a quick keyboard test on any webpage:
- Click somewhere at the top of the page (the address bar is fine).
- Press Tab to move through the page.
- You should be able to reach every link, button, and form field.
- The element you're on should be visibly highlighted (a focus outline).
- Press Enter or Space to activate buttons and links.
If something is unreachable, or you can't tell where you are on the page, that's an accessibility problem.
One More Thing: PDFs
PDFs are often the least accessible content on a website. Before posting a PDF, ask whether the content could live as a webpage instead. If it really needs to be a PDF:
- Start from a properly structured Word document (real headings, real lists, real alt text) and export to PDF.
- Don't post scanned images of documents — those are pictures of text, unreadable to screen readers.
- Warn users when a link opens a PDF, so people on slow connections or assistive tech know what's coming. Example: "Course catalog (PDF)".