What does inaccessible content look like?

The next section on this page contains a photograph with no alternative text. It is an example of inaccessible content. The reasons why it is inaccessible will become clear by the number of questions we need to ask and answer to understand its content.

What is depicted in the image?

The picture depicts four apple computer sitting beside each other on desks. Behind the monitors is a whiteboard noticeboard containing several colourful posters. A light is shining down from the ceiling over the computers. The first computer monitor is displaying the words 'Graphic Design Graduate Show 14. 'Welcome'. The text is written in white and blue text against a teal green background. The second computer monitor shows an open file directory with an overlaid error message. The third computer screen is displaying a screensaver composed of a collage of images. The fourth computer screen shows the 'Log in' screen.

Why is the content of the image above inaccessible?

Below are just some of the reasons why the image above might be inaccessible.

• All the text included above regarding what the photograph contains is necessary for a screen reader user to get a similar meaning as what someone else might be able to interpret by looking at the image.
• There's no meaningful alternative text (alt text) on the image. A screen reader user might hear the image's file name, or nothing at all, where someone else might see an image.
• It's in a format that doesn't allow you to zoom in on it to see it very well, so someone with a vision impairment may have greater difficulty seeing or understanding it than someone else.

What types of content can be inaccessible?

If created without care, there are certain types of content that tend to be more inaccessible than others.

Below is a list of the most common types that can cause barriers to comprehension when they are not marked up for assistive technology to present them adequately or when they lack critical contextual information.

• Images (as shown in the example above)
• Tables
• Video and audio files
• Links (due to inadequate referencing)
• Lists of items (due to improper formatting)
• Background and text colours
• Font styles
• Page structure
• Line breaks

Different assistive technologies are available to aid accessibility, the most common are:

• JAWS - a screen reader for Windows
• ZoomText - a screen magnifier for Windows
• Dragon - a speech recognition tool for Windows and Mac
• NVDA - a screen reader for Windows
• VoiceOver - a screen reader which comes as standard with Mac/iOS

Student Wellbeing provides more information on assistive technology.