Five festive tips for making your content accessible

Small dog wearing a santa hat holding a laptop displaying the Content Design blog.

Before everyone goes away for a well earned break, I thought I would spoil you with a small gift of five festive themed tips to help you make your web pages more accessible.

Warning: this post may contain puns and tenuous festive references 

1. “He’s making a list…”

Use bulleted and numbered lists in your content

Bulleted and numbered lists are much easier for people to read and will grab their attention as they scan your page. They are very good for screen readers too.

2. Deck the halls with descriptive alt text

Make sure you always add alt text that provides an equivalent purpose for people that cannot see the image.

Read our guidance on text alternatives.

3. Don’t end up on the naughty list…

Avoid using non-accessible documents for important content

Publishing primary content in downloadable documents makes it harder for people to access and read. You should instead publish the content as web pages.

Read our guidance on publishing accessible documents online

4. Merry Christmas and happy new year, but please please…

…don’t use click here!

The link text you use should clearly indicate where the link goes to or what will happen if when you click it, without needing context. Using things like ‘click here’ are too vague and unhelpful.

Read our guidance on writing descriptive link text.

5. Before you start heading off…

Make sure you use headings properly

Clear and succinct headings help people scan your pages quickly to understand what they are about and which sections are relevant to them. You should also make sure you use the right heading styles so there is a clear hierarchy and grouping for your content.

Read our guidance on using clear and effective headings.


Further guidance

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