We always strive to make our content more accessible and usable to the widest possible audience. As our audiences will interact with our content in different ways, we aim to make our content accessible to anyone using a screen reader, keyboard navigation, or Braille interface, and to users of all cognitive capabilities.
CPAC’s website meets internationally recognized Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA website requirements in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA).
Consider the following elements as you develop your content.
Alt text
Alternative text (alt text) is descriptive text which conveys the meaning and context of a visual item in a digital setting, such as a web article or an Instagram photo. It is read aloud to users by screen reader software and indexed by search engines. Well-written, descriptive alt text dramatically reduces ambiguity and improves user experience.
Below are some alt text guidelines (see eCampusOntario’s website for more information):
- Add alt text to all non-text content.
- Keep it short and descriptive.
- Don’t include “image of” or “photo of.”
- Leave alt text blank if the image is purely decorative.
- Don’t be redundant or provide the same information as text near the image on the page.
Links
Link text should be descriptive for both search engine indexing purposes and accessibility. They should be used within the flow of the sentence, in a logical way and contain keywords. Terms like “click here” or “learn more” should be avoided. Hyperlinking full URL addresses should also be avoided.
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Subtitles and transcription
For accessibility purposes, digital products such as recorded videos of interviews, product announcements, etc. must be subtitled in both English and French and have transcripts available, wherever possible.
Captions
If you are providing captions, include background noises, speaker differentiation and other relevant information, making content more accessible for individuals who have hearing loss.
Subtitles
Unlike captions, subtitles assume viewers can hear the audio and are typically used when the viewer doesn’t speak the language in the video. So, subtitles support our bilingualism requirement, but they also make the video more accessible for many people.
Transcript
Primarily used for screen readers, transcripts support accessibility for people with low vision and should be provided along with recordings whenever possible.
