Accessibility basics for a community group website

A community website is for everyone in the community, and that includes people who are older, people who have sight or hearing loss, people who cannot use a mouse, and people who find long pages hard to take in. Making a site easier for them usually makes it easier for everybody. You do not need to be an expert to get the basics right.

Write clearly

Short sentences, everyday words and sensible headings help every reader. Say when and where you meet near the top of the page. If you use a shorthand or a nickname, explain it once.

Make text easy to read

• Use dark text on a light background, or the other way round, with strong contrast
• Avoid tiny text and long, unbroken paragraphs
• Do not use colour alone to give information, such as "the red events are cancelled"

Describe your images

People who use a screen reader hear a short description of each photo, called alternative text. Good alt text says what matters: "Members of the choir at the summer concert", not "IMG_2041". If an image is only decoration, it does not need a description. When you send me photos, a line about each one helps me write it.

Link words that make sense

"Click here" tells a screen reader user nothing when links are read out in a list. "Download the hall booking form" does.

Think about PDFs

A poster or newsletter saved as a picture inside a PDF cannot be read by a screen reader and is hard to use on a phone. Where you can, put the words on the page itself, and offer the PDF as an extra.

Check the basics yourself

• Can you get around the page using only the Tab key?
• Does the page still work when you zoom in to 200 per cent?
• Do videos have captions, and does audio have a written version?
• Are your contact details available in more than one way, such as email and phone?

I build every site with these points in mind, and I explain how I approach it on the accessibility page. Content the group supplies, such as photos, is a shared job, and I will help with it.