When considering rainbow text, don't forget to consider readability and legibility. Text filled with rainbows can be difficult to read. Same with complex rainbow backgrounds. Putting each word or letter in a different color of the rainbow could force readers to work harder.
Automatic captions make it difficult to watch videos because the viewer is forced to decipher misspelled or mistranslated words that appear in a string of text without any punctuation. These can be distracting and disorienting. Always edit your captions before publishing.
You don't necessarily need to say "image of" in your alt text for users to know it's an image. Screen readers will announce that it's an image. But it can help readers to specify if it's a hand-drawn image, Polaroid, infographic, screenshot, chart, map, diagram, or so on.
Avoid emoji icons in alt text. Emoji icons are a visual element, so it's counterintuitive to add them to non-visual content. You'll likely confuse people with messages that don't make sense. In alt text, use plain text, free of symbols, icons, or any weird special characters.
When using Microsoft Word or Google Docs, don't just make text bigger and bolder to make it a heading. That will work for sighted users, but screen reader users will miss that and just hear it as normal paragraph text. Use actual heading styles, like level 1 through 6.
Color can be a great way to distinguish data points in charts. But don't rely on color alone to convey information, as that can make things difficult for colorblind users. Using different shapes or patterns can help. Make sure patterns or textures are simple and not distracting.
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In some cases like heatmaps which using patterns and shapes are not possible, we can use colorblind-compatible color palettes to make them more accessible:
Avoid using emoji as bullet points in social media posts. An emoji has a coded description that gets read by screen readers, and thus could confuse users who think that's part of the content. If you can't use standard lists, use dashes for bullet points or add line breaks.
A transcript is the only way to make video or audio content accessible to someone who is both deaf and blind. Transcripts can be converted into braille, to be read on a refreshable braille output device.
If you put links or hashtags in your alt text, no one will be able to click or select the link or hashtag. It's just going to be read out loud. If you have a link or hashtag to share, that should go in the written part of your post or your tweet, but not the alt text.
Hashtags also aren't clickable when they are put in the subject line for CW (content warnings) posts. Better to put those hashtags in the body of the post.
People who want to make the web accessible need to understand the many different ways that people with disabilities use the web. This W3C resource offers a good introduction to how disabled people navigate the web, and barriers they commonly encounter.
When writing alt text, focus on what's truly important. In an image with text about a canceled event, don't spend a lot of time describing the borders of the image. A decorative border is not nearly as important as the actual message.
Do not rely on the A.I.-generated alt text in Facebook or Instagram. The result is vague and useless, like "may be an image of food and text," and "may be an image of outdoors." These do nothing to give users the context and content of an image.
If you use the clapping hands emoji between every word for emphasis, screen reader users will hear "clapping hands" after each word. This is true for any emoji. This will be distracting, annoying, and disorienting. The message you're trying to emphasize will likely be lost.
If you pair light colors (yellow text on white background) or dark colors (dark blue text on black background), users will struggle to read your content. Understanding color contrast will help you better serve all users, especially those with low vision.
Images shared on social media always need alt text. If you have an event or program claiming to be about "diversity, belonging, equity and inclusion," then your lack of alt text for any image you share about this event or program is especially egregious and misses the mark in a big way.