Notices by Accessibility Awareness (a11yawareness@disabled.social), page 3

Do not cram alt text with keywords just to improve search engine optimization. This will hinder alt text’s true purpose: improving accessibility. Focus on describing the photo's content. Search engine optimization should not be the goal for writing good alt text.

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 punctuation. These can be distracting and disorienting. Always edit these types of captions before publishing.

Don't write generic descriptions for alt text. "Screenshot of a news article" might technically describe an image, but it does nothing to convey the information or context sighted users get from the image. People who can't see the image need the same information and context.

Beware of companies promising to make sites completely accessible, compliant, and immune from lawsuits with just a few lines of code. This just isn't possible. Disabled users have long said these tools don't actually help them, and can often make things worse.

First and foremost, alt text must always be informative and descriptive of the content in the image. It can have character and humor, but it still needs to be informative and descriptive. Alt text is not a place to add easter eggs or jokes for sighted users.

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.

Hyperlink text should make sense when read out of context. Screen reader users can navigate from link to link, and can listen to links in a list. When navigating this way, only the link is read. So "click here" or "read more" won't make sense.

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.

Alt text is not the same as a photo caption. Captions are typically written to support a photo, and usually depend on users being able to see the photo. But alt text is meant to be the stand-in for the photo. The alt text is what a screen reader user gets in place of the photo.

When writing alt text, ask yourself if you would picture an approximation of the image if it was described to you over the phone using the alt text you've written. Doing that exercise can be a good way to determine if you're on the right track.

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.

Most screen readers say "link" before each link, so links don't need "link" in the link text. For images used as links, the alt text for a graphic doesn't need to say "link" or "link to," as screen readers could say "link graphic link to Products," which is redundant.

Don't write generic descriptions for alt text. "Screenshot of a news article" might technically describe an image, but it does nothing to convey the information or context sighted users get from the image. People who can't see the image need the same information and context.

Avoid using images of big blocks of text. Using actual text instead of images of text will help screen reader users, but also will help people with reading disabilities. Using actual text helps users who need to adjust the text's font, color, size, and alignment.

Many screen readers can produce a list with all the headings on a page. This allows users to browse the list and jump to a specific heading on the page. Write down that list and structure it. Does it make sense if you read it out loud?

When creating PDFs, avoid using "Print to PDF." A screen reader user may still be able to access the text of PDFs created this way, but heading structure, alternative text, and any other tag structure will be lost. Using "Save As" or "Export" can preserve these tags.

The term "overlay" refers to any product using third-party source code to change a website's front-end code to attempt to improve accessibility and avoid legal risks. But no overlay can truthfully promise it can make a website fully conform with existing accessibility standards.

The #NoMouse Challenge is a global effort to raise awareness about accessible web design. Try using your website without a mouse. Use the keyboard instead. Is it possible to access all features and operate all buttons, sliders, and other controls?

https://nomouse.org/

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.

Beware of companies promising to make sites completely accessible, compliant, and immune from lawsuits with just a few lines of code. This just isn't possible. Disabled users have long said these tools don't actually help them, and can often make things worse.