Writing accessible content

What is accessibility?

Accessibility is the practice of making information meaningful and usable for as many people as possible, regardless of age, status or expertise.

Accessibility is everyone’s responsibility, which means we all play a part in how compliant we are.

What is our legal obligation?

As a government department we have a legal obligation to be compliant with the Public Sector Accessibility Regulations 2018.

How to make your content accessible

Crown Commercial Service colleagues (CCS) can access more information on all sections mentioned below using our intranet accessibility hub.

Creating and saving accessible document types

As a government department we need to make sure our documents are as accessible and easy to use as possible, which is why we should not use PDFs.

PDFs are designed to be printed and not for reading on screens.

Save your documents in open document format.

Open document format

For your documents to be technically accessible you will need to save them in an open format (.odt, .ods, .odp) instead of PDF.

Saving documents in open format means readers can open documents in any similar software. They are also easier to use across different devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Saving Microsoft documents in open format

To save a Microsoft document in open format you will need to:

1. create or open an existing document.
2. click ‘save as’.
3. go to the ‘file format’ dropdown menu at the bottom of the save box.
4. select the open format option (usually at the bottom of the list).

This will save your document in ODT, ODP or ODS depending on the document type.

Converting Google documents to open format

save a Google document in open format you will need to:

1. create or open an existing document.
2. click ‘file’.
3. scroll down the options to ‘download’.
4. select the open format option.

Use page breaks in documents

Do not use excessive spacing (hitting the enter key multiple times) to separate content. Instead, use page breaks.

To use page breaks you should:

1. Click the point in your document where you want to put a page break.
2. Select ‘insert’ from the top left corner of the navigation bar.
3. Click ‘page break’ from the options provided.

Colour contrast

We add colour to our documents, presentations and webpages to make them more engaging, but we need to make sure we are doing this in an accessible way.

Never use colour to convey meaning

If you took all the colour away from your webpage, email or document, the meaning and purpose of your content should still be clear.

For example, imagine you have 2 columns in a spreadsheet. One is highlighted ‘green’ for confirmed proposals and the other is highlighted ‘red’ for rejected. This use of colour may not be obvious to everyone, making the purpose of the spreadsheet confusing and inaccessible. 

You should also add the word ‘confirmed’ to any green coloured cell in the spreadsheet and ‘rejected’ in any cell highlighted red. Using the wording as well as the colour removes any confusion or ambiguity.

Use the correct colour contrast

Having the correct colour contrast is also important. You must make sure there is a minimum colour contrast ratio of 4.5:1 between the colour of your text and its background.

If the colour contrast is too low, text or images can be difficult to see. You can use WebAims free colour contrast tool to check your colour contrast.

Images and alt text

Images and graphics can help to make content easier for readers to use. But, they are not accessible by default. To make an image accessible you will need to include alt text.

Alt text or alternative text describes the appearance or function of an image on a webpage or document. Alt text is read aloud by assistive technologies for those with visual impairments or low vision who may not be able to see the image.

When writing your alt text, think about:

• what does the reader really need to know?
• what is the purpose of the image?
• how is it adding to your message?

Do this to add alt text to document images:

1. Right-click on the object.
2. Choose Format Picture.
3. In the Format Picture panel, choose the Layout and Properties icon.
4. Choose Alt Text.
5. Write your alt text in the alt text field.

Reminder: not all image types need alt text, Read the sections below for more information.

Decorative images

If an image is decorative, it does not enhance or provide additional information or meaning to your message. It is there to be visually engaging.

You do not need to add alt text to decorative images and you do not need to describe it in your body text.

Non-decorative images

Non-decorative images enhance or provide additional information or meaning to your message.

You must describe non-decorative images in words for people who cannot see them. If this image is within a written document, leave the alt text field blank and instead include the description in the body text of your document. Only highlight the important information.

For example if your image is a graph, describe the relevant trends and data.

If your image is part of a web page you should include clear and concise alt text. You should also aim to include the relevance of the image in the body text of the page.

Social media and alt text

Use the alt text field for your images. If the image is non-decorative or includes text you should also include the image description in the caption of your post. This is particularly important if any images you use contain words that your audience needs to be able to read.

Tables

Tables are best used for numerical data only and you should avoid using them for text. Usually you can take text out of tables using a series of headings and paragraphs to restructure your content.

There may be times when using a table for text is needed or is the clearest option. There is no fool proof way to make tables in written documents (like Google Docs) accessible, but there are things you can do to help.

If you must use a table for text, make it short and clear. You should stick to a simple structure:

• include a header row or column (which explains the content of the columns or rows)
• include more rows than columns: a narrow table is easier to read than a short, wide one
• avoid merged, split or (where possible) blank cells
• avoid nested tables
• left align text
• right align data

Videos and animation

Videos and animations usually rely on people being able to see and hear. To ensure they are accessible to everyone you should:

• include quality subtitles in a easy to read font (Arial) that make sense and matches the video content
• avoid confusing line breaks when editing subtitles
• check the colour contrast between your video background and subtitles
• check transition time to ensure your subtitles are easy to read (on average most people can read between 200 to 250 words per minute)
• include easy to hear voice overs (there should be a minimum of 20 decibels (db) between your voice over and any background audio)
• make clear transcripts available that include everything that the speaker(s) is saying and describes (in text) important visual or audio content

Flashing images and GIFs

Flashing images and GIFs can be distracting and can trigger epileptic seizures. Make sure that nothing flashes more than 3 times per second. Add a trigger warning before the content and, if possible, a way for a user to pause the movement.

Accessibility resources

• images Tutorial | Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) | W3C
• content design: planning, writing and managing content – Images – Guidance – GOV.UK
• WebAIM: Contrast Checker
• charts and Accessibility
• intranet accessibility hub

Explore more of our style guide

Our style guide is designed to help you communicate in a clear and consistent way. Find out more about how to write and design for Crown Commercial Service (CCS).

• Brand guidelines

  We created these brand guidelines to explain how we use our brand to consistently communicate with our customers visually and verbally. Includes our tone of voice, our brand colours how to use our brand mark (logo).

   

  Find out more about our brand guidelines.

• Designing for CCS

  Learn about the design components we use on our website and how you can use them to create webpages. Includes page components such as buttons and hero banner design.

  Find out how to design webpages for CCS.

• Formatting

  Everything you need to know about how to format your content. Includes links, bullet pointed lists, heading styles and punctuation.

   

  Find out how to format your content.

• Language

  Everything you need to know about language and spelling. Includes how to use plain language, abbreviations, capitalisation and words to avoid.

  Find out about using language in your content.

• Numbers

  Everything you need to know about formatting and writing numbers in your content. Includes dates and time, percentages and how to write about ages.

   

  Find out how to use numbers in your content.

• Checklist

  When you have finished writing your piece of content, use our checklist to check you have followed the style guide and are ready to publish.

  View our checklist.

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