Accessibility Guide

Inclusive Design

The purpose of inclusive design is to:

• Provide the best user experience for as wide of a variety of people as possible
• Address barriers and provide various ways to people to engage
• Serve the broadest range of people and situations

Two Steps to Making Social Media More Accessible

• Step 1: Identify the edge cases - in other words, the most rare or extreme needs of people. This includes differences in ability, age, gender, language, etc.
• Step 2: Design a solution for those needs. For example, add closed captioning to a video or alt text to describe an image.

Tips for Inclusive Design

Text

• Write in plain language. Avoid jargon, slang, or technical terms unless it is appropriate.
• Don't overuse caps. All caps can be difficult to read and misinterpreted by screen readers.
• Use camel case for multi-word hashtags. Capitalize the first letter of each word to make the hashtags more readable and the words within hashtags to be more recognizable by screen readers. For example, the hashtag #ThisIsWhatATigerLooksLike is a lot easier to read than if the letters were all lowercase.
• Put hashtags and mentions at the end of posts. Bear in mind that punctuation marks are read aloud by screen readers.
• Avoid using the words "Click here" for links. Instead, use descriptive call-to-actions like "Sign up" or "Subscribe."
• Keep emojis and emoticons to a minimum as they are both read aloud by assistive technology. For example, a screen might read an emoji as "loudly crying face." It is a good idea to look up how an emoji or emoticon translates to text.
• Use an adequate font size and make sure all text is legible, especially in images or areas that cannot be modified.
• Avoid special characters. Not only do they reduce legibility, but also assistive technology reads special characters differently.
• Limit line length. Lines that are too long can reduce readability and retention.
• Use inclusive language. This includes - but is not limited to - gender-neutral pronouns and terms, and diverse voices and emojis. It is wise to evaluate text for assumptions of limited points of view.

Image Captions

• Descriptive captions and alternative text (alt text) lets people visualize images when they cannot see them. It is always a good idea to add a custom description of an image when you can.
• Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn provide designated fields for alt text for images and GIFs. If it is not possible to add alt text, include a descriptive caption.

Tips for Using Alt Text

• Always convey the content of the image.
• Avoid saying "Image of" or "Photo of."
• Mention color if it's important to the image's context.
• If appropriate, do your best to express what is funny or humorous about the image.
• Transcribe text within an image if copy is central to the meaning of the image.
• Don't forget to use descriptive captions for GIFs. Twitter has an alt text option for GIFs.

Video Captions and Descriptions

• Video captions benefit people with hearing impairments, people watching content in their non-native language, viewers in sound-off environments, and children learning to read.

Adding Video Descriptions

• Descriptive language includes important sights and sounds that are not spoken.
• Descriptive audio is a narrated description of any important non-verbal elements. It is written and recorded to fit within the gaps between important audio elements. On social media, described video is usually "baked in" and cannot be turned off.
• A descriptive transcript, also known as a media alternative transcript, provides descriptions along with dialogue similar to a script for a movie.
• In a live described video, use descriptive video techniques such as taking pauses to describe what is happening onscreen.

• Social Media Accessibility
• WebAIM: Web Accessibility In Mind
• Inclusive Design for Social Media: Tips for Creating Accessible Channels
• How do I Add or Edit the Alternative Text on Instagram? [Link]
• How do I use the ALT Badge and GIF labels in Twitter? [Link]