Digital Accessibility Resources

Ensure your text is easy to read (Color Contrast)

The text color and its background color must have enough contrast to be readable by everyone, including people with color blindness or low vision.

• Quick Check: Use the free WebAIM Color Contrast Checker to test your color combinations and confirm they pass the AA standard (the minimum legal requirement).
• Brand First: Always use the official UC Irvine brand colors, as they have been pre-tested to ensure compliance with contrast standards in most cases.

Give your content a clear roadmap 

A clean, consistent structure helps every user quickly understand where they are and where they can go.

• Use Headings like an Outline. Headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.) are crucial for screen reader users, serving as a table of contents that allows them to jump directly to a section. 
  • Use H1 only once per page for the main page title. Use H2 for main section titles. Use H3 for sub-sections under an H2 and so on.
  • Never skip a level (e.g., jumping from H2 straight to H4).
     
• Write Descriptive Links, Not Vague Commands. Never use generic link text like "Click here," "Read more" or the raw URL. The link text should clearly describe the destination.
  • Bad link example: "To see our new policy, click here."
  • Good link example: "Review the New Employee Policy."
     
• Do NOT Force Links to Open in New Tabs. Opening a new tab or window without warning can be confusing and disorienting for screen reader users, potentially disrupting keyboard navigation. Accessible sites keep internal links opening in the same tab/window. The default setting is the accessible setting.

Accessibility Basics (Must-Do)

• ALWAYS Add Alt Text (Image Descriptions). Alt Text (Alternative Text) is a short, text-based description that communicates the meaning, purpose and context of an image in digital content. This is mandatory for accessibility.
   
• How to Write Good Alt Text: Best Practices
  • Keep it concise and clear: typically between eight and 80 characters, and no more than 125 characters (about 5–15 words) to accurately represent the image's content.
  • Describe the purpose or essential content of the image.
  • Avoid starting with "The image of" or "The picture of" since assistive technologies already announce images, and these phrases add redundancy.
  • Use long description features (such as caption fields) if more detailed descriptions are needed (e.g., for infographics or complex diagrams).
    • Bad alt text: "Marketing image banner graphic with colors red and blue and people in the background and some text." (Too vague, too wordy, and doesn't capture the purpose.)
    • Good alt text: "Team collaborating in an office, illustrating our customer support services." (Clear, under 125 characters, communicates the function of the image in context.)
  • For decorative images that do not provide meaningful information or context, enter two quotation marks ("") in the alt. text field so screen readers will skip them.
     
• Avoid Text in Images. Do not include important information (e.g., dates, quotes or contact details) directly in an image. Screen readers cannot read text that is "baked into" a picture. If you must use an image with text, make sure that the exact text is repeated in the regular body text nearby. 

Design & Technical Tips

• Use High-Quality Images. Photos should be clear, well-lit and professionally shot to maintain the university's brand standard.
• Technical Specifications:
  • Use standard web formats: JPG (for photos) or PNG (for photos or graphics/logos with transparent backgrounds).
  • Images should be sized appropriately for your website CMS. For School of Medicine Drupal websites, original images should be at least 5" x 5" (500 px. wide) and have a minimum resolution of 72 ppi (standard web resolution sufficient for screen viewing).

Alternative Text Resources

• Tips for writing effective alternative text
• Tools to create alt text for STEM content
• Request assistance from the DASH alt text service. Availability is on a first-come, first-served basis, depending on resource capacity.
• If working with many images, consider using an alt text generator or uploading files to an AI assistant to generate initial drafts. Digital content creators are expected to review and revise auto-generated alt text for accuracy, clarity and alignment with your content. Otherwise, the alt text may not serve its intended purpose.

Every Video Needs Captions and Transcripts 

This is a mandatory requirement for accessibility.

• Closed Captions enable people who cannot hear the audio to follow the video content.
• A Transcript (a text file or the script/dialogue) is helpful for many reasons, including searchability and providing access for those who can't watch the video.

Captions benefit everyone, not just people with disabilities. They help those watching content in noisy environments and individuals who speak English as a second language.

How to Add Captions

Use the resources on the UC Irvine Accessibility Closed Captioning Vendors page for both free, self-captioning tools and professional, paid services.

The UCOP Electronic Accessibility website also has detailed information on UC-wide media accessibility guidelines, including resources on creating video captions.  

Ensure Text in Video is Readable (Contrast) 

If you display text over your video (like titles, lower-thirds or credits), there must be sufficient contrast between the text and the background image/video. Use a solid background bar behind the text to ensure readability.

Disable Autoplay

Videos should never automatically start playing when a user lands on a page. Auto-playing content is disruptive for all users and can be particularly disorienting for screen reader users and those with cognitive disabilities. 

When to Use PDFs

Rule of thumb: PDFs are for Printing, not for Reading Online.

• Offline Use. The primary purpose is for the user to download and print the file (e.g., a physical form to mail, brochure or handout).
• Preserving Formatting. Use PDFs for documents where maintaining original formatting is essential (e.g., formal reports, archived documents, legal documents).

When to Avoid PDFs 

Prioritize Webpages over PDFs.

• Easily Consumed Online. Content can be easily discovered, navigated and consumed online (e.g., news items, simple policies, updates).
• Mobile-Friendly. Weppages automatically adjust to screen size (responsive design), whereas PDFs often require tedious zooming and scrolling on phones.

All Documents Must Be Accessible

If you MUST use a document, it must be accessible. All documents (PDFs, word processing files, slide decks, etc.) uploaded to a public website must incorporate accessibility features before being uploaded.

• Outline Structure: Every document requires a proper structure (headings, lists, tables, etc.) to ensure screen readers can navigate it correctly.
  • Set up document properties, such as document title, author, language, etc.
  • Create a hierarchical heading structure in sequential order.
• Document Features: 
  • All images within the document need proper alt text.
  • Replace raw URLs with descriptive text links and avoid vague phrases like "Click Here" for hyperlinks.
  • Properly format lists with bullet points or numbers. Do not use emojis as bullet points.
  • Use built-in table features to present tabular or formatted data.
  • Enhance readability with font style, size and line spacing.
    • Font Style: Sans-serif (Montserrat, Arial, Calibri) for digital; serif (Hepta Slab) for print. Learn more about UC Irvine Brand fonts and download them via the UC Irvine Brand Typography webpage.
    • Line Spacing: At least 1.5 times the font size is recommended.
    • Font Sizes: 12 pt body text minimum; 18 pt for large text.

Resources for Creating Accessible Documents

If a document needs to be added to your website, ensure it is accessible using these guides.

• UC Systemwide Resources
  • IT Services: Accessible Documents and PDFs
  • Electronic Accessibility
  • Create Accessible PDFs
     
• UC Irvine Resources
  • Accessibility Basics Training (Student Life & Leadership)
  • Division of Teaching Excellence & Innovation (DTEI) – Accessibility Resources
  • Teaching Accessibility Cheat Sheet
     
• External Resources
  • Adobe Acrobat Workflow for Creating Accessible PDFs
  • Create Accessible Digital Products (Section 508)
  • WebAIM: Microsoft Word Accessibility
    • A practical guide for making Word documents accessible, including headings, alt text and structure 
  • Creating Accessible Documents Cheatsheets

Making Events Accessible

Ensure in-person, virtual or hybrid events are inclusive for all participants. This resource provides a detailed, phase-by-phase protocol covering everything from accessible promotional materials and registration forms to managing on-site accommodation requests and follow-up.

Please note that an SSO login is required to access this internal resource.

UCI Student Life & Leadership Information Technology: Accessible Events

Online accessibility training is available on the Siteimprove platform. The UC Irvine Office of Accessibility also provides several training resources, including the AccessibiliTrees training program and the Accessibility Basics training guides.

As we inch closer to the deadline, it’s essential that you make every effort to review all digital content you have produced and correct any compliance issues. If there is content you cannot address in time, then it’s important to document it and create an action plan to remedy the areas of non-compliance as soon as possible.

Please contact the UC Irvine School of Medicine Digital Communications team (DCT) at somweb@hs.uci.edu. The DCT can assist with reviewing the content and providing suggestions to reach compliance.

Yes! Please refer to the following resources for more information about these mandates and meeting compliance requirements:

• ADA Title II Web and Mobile App Content Fact Sheet
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 101: Understanding the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
• Digital Accessibility Support & Help (DASH) 
• UC Irvine Accessibility About ADA Title II and IMT-1300
• UCOP Monthly Digital Accessibility Office Hours