Social Media, Text and Accessibility

Content is Clear and Concise

Clear and easy to understand language will solve accessibility problems related to literacy. According to WCAG 2.0 AAA requirement 3.1.5, you should not use language above a lower secondary education level. While Texas State University adheres to level AA in most cases, we find that this particular AAA guideline is helpful. 

Use the list below as a quick reference to writing accessibly.

  • Use short sentences
  • Avoiding using font sizes below 12
  • Avoid using jargon
  • Use expanded acronyms on first use
    • For example, Student Learning Assistance Center (SLAC).
  • Provide a glossary when industry specific jargon is unavoidable
  • Use list formatting when appropriate
  • Visual representations of your ideas help convey meaning
    • Use video, audio, symbols and illustrations to assist with user communication

Readability

It is best to write page text at a high school level, when reasonable. Doing so benefits people with cognitive impairments, people who do not speak English as a first language and people who may be distracted while reading.

Some best practices for readability include:

  • Writing at a high school grade level, where possible and appropriate
    • Know your audience
  • Limiting paragraphs to around ~80 words

For more information, consult WebAIM's Writing Clearly and Simply article.

Test your Copy

The Hemingway App allows you to score the readability of your copy while also giving you specific advice about what you could remove or add to your text to make the readability better.

Social Media

Guidelines for Making Social Media Accessible

Social Media is a key way to advertise your department or school's activities to a wide audience.  While many Social Media platforms are reasonably accessible, issues still exist in some platforms so it is important that your content be as accessible as possible.

Digital.gov created a Social Media Accessibility Toolkit that will help your Social Media authors create the most accessible content possible. Accessible Social also created an easy to read accessibility guide for social media. Both these resources are educational and can help you make accessible posts in the popular social media platforms.

Link Text

Write link text so that it describes the content users will see after clicking the link. Avoid using ambiguous link text, such as "click here" or “read more.”

Training

The Division of Information Technology created a public training course for link text in Canvas that has more examples, and detailed instructions for what makes link text accessible.