Online Accessibility doesn’t have to be scary?
Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity
Rays of Sunshine brightens the lives of seriously ill children (3-18) across the UK by granting magical wishes
As part of our LinkedIn mini-series celebrating Rays of Sunshine’s values – kindness, integrity, joy, connection, and empowerment, we sat down with Amber Sunner, Digital Engagement Officer, to see how she incorporates the value of Integrity into her everyday work.?
?? Hi, I’m Amber and I’m the Digital Engagement Officer at Rays of Sunshine!??
I work on everything digital including the website, email communications and social media alongside my incredible team.?
I’m here to talk about one of our core values as a charity - integrity. But what does integrity mean??
At Rays of Sunshine we say integrity means ‘we are transparent, honest and trusted to do the right thing’.?
Being accessible is one quality I believe falls under working with integrity - making content inclusive for all should be mandatory.?
I’m passionate about making the content I write and produce accessible to all. I’m always looking for new ways to learn and improve to maximise our reach and impact.?
To honour spooky season, I’m telling you why accessibility is not as scary as it seems!?
Become an accessibility ally today by reading my top tips on how to make your content more accessible.?
Amber’s Accessible Tips:?
?? Make sure your content is accessible for screen readers by adding alt text. First, screen readers are a type of assistive technology designed for electronic device users who have limited or no vision.??
Adding alt text to all the images you use (where possible) means that people who use screen readers will be able to hear your content. Alt text is a small paragraph describing your image or its function on the page. This small addition can make a big impact.?
?? Emojis are great but not always accessible for accessibility. They may jazz a piece of writing up visually, but please remember screen readers read the whole emoji name – so if you overuse them, it can be time-consuming and irritating. The charity Whizz Kidz has a great article on this subject: https://www.whizz-kidz.org.uk/news/emoji-accessibility-not-always-a-smiley-matter/?
?? Use #CamelCase when writing hashtags. Camel Case is used when your writing doesn’t have spaces or punctuation but you capitalise each word in your text. This makes it easier for screen readers to recognise different words in a hashtag and makes the hashtag overall easier to read for everyone.?
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Let’s put it to the test - which one is easier to read??
Option 1: #raysofsunshine?
Option 2: #RaysOfSunshine?
?? Avoid serif and decorative tiny fonts! This point is very important so that your content is accessible to people who have a visual impairment, dyslexia, migraines and more.??
Remember the more complex the font (type, colour and size wise), the less likely it is for someone to read a sentence.?
?? Keep your language simple! This is super important - catering for all reading ages means that you can maximise your reach as more people will be able to understand your content. As a children’s charity, making our content simple and easy to read is at the heart of our communications.?
?? Subtitle your video content. This addition to your video content will make it a lot easier for everyone to consume! If you’re deaf, hard of hearing or are in a noisy place, subtitles will make your videos inclusive to all.??
See, I told you it didn’t have to be scary. Make your content accessible for all and become an ally today!?
Now let’s throw the mic over to you, what are your top accessibility tips? Leave them in the comments below.?
Helpful links: ?
Senior Public Relations Executive and Consultant
1 年As a 40-year veteran writer and journalist, I couldn't agree more with the points raised here by Amber Sunner. She hits on a number of concepts I have followed throughout my career both in journalism and media relations. "Keep your language simple" is one of the key commands of the newspaper business. My editors when I was Amber's age taught me to use language someone with a sixth-grade education could understand no matter how complex the topic. If you do that, stories will be "accessible" to all readers no matter their level of education or background. Writing a story that requires a PhD to understand shuts out the majority of readers. "Use CamelCase when writing hashtags" is something I've learned more recently. Whether you use a screen reader or not, #creditcardcompetionact would be garble to most readers but the #CreditCardCompetitionAct hashtag I use regularly for one of my clients is much easier to read. I've worn eyeglasses since having strabismus surgery at the age of two and I suffer from migraines, so "Avoid serif and decorative tiny fonts" also rings true. With some fonts, it's difficult to distinguish certain letters, leading to errors. I use Arial and never smaller than 12-point. Keep up the good work, Amber!