Accessibility

We are committed to removing barriers and making our experiences equitable to all, regardless of ability or circumstance

The Conversation

Overview

We serve millions of people, and we believe everyone deserves equal access to our content. That's why we're committed to meeting accessibility standards, including WCAG 2.2 and the European Accessibility Act.

Do
  • Add text alternatives for images and media
  • Ensure sufficient colour contrast
  • Use clear, logical page structures
  • Test with real users and screen readers
  • Use labels and announcements with care
Don't
  • Rely on colour alone to convey information
  • Use vague link text like "read more"
  • Autoplay media with sound
  • Think of accessibility as an afterthought

Principles

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are built around four key principles that guide everything we do:

Perceivable

Information and interface components must be presented in ways users can perceive.
  • Provide text alternatives for images
  • Support captions and transcripts for audio/video
  • Use accessible font sizes
  • Maintain sufficient colour contrast between text and background

Operable

Navigation and interactive interfaces must be easy to operate.
  • Make all functionality available by keyboard
  • Respect user settings like reduced motion and text zoom
  • Avoid autoplaying media
  • Ensure interactive elements are large enough to tap or click

Understandable

Information and content of the user interface must be easy to understand.
  • Use clear, simple, and consistent language
  • Provide helpful error messages and instructions
  • Provide meaning to elements (form labels, aria labels, link text)
  • Use semantic HTML

Robust

The interface should work reliably across a variety of technologies.
  • Ensure compatibility with current and emerging technologies
  • Test with screen readers and assistive technologies

Understanding different needs

Accessibility isn't just for people with permanent disabilities, it's about designing for everyone. By understanding the different ways people might interact with our content, we can create experiences that benefit all.

Situational

Like holding a baby while reading, or checking an article in bright sunlight.

Temporary

Such as having a broken arm, or recovering from eye surgery.

Permanent

Including people who are blind, deaf, or have limited mobility.

Guidelines

Text contrast

Aim for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text (18pt+ or 14pt+ bold). This ensures text is readable for people with low vision or in bright sunlight.

When text is on top of images, graphics, or gradients, the contrast is evaluated against it's lowest point.

Black text on white background

Gray text on white background

Do

Sufficient contrast

Light grey text on white background

Light blue text on white background

Don't

Not enough contrast

Image alt text

Alt text should be concise and describe the image's purpose or content. Decorative images should have empty alt attributes.

Group of young college students laugh and walk along a tree-lined pathway.

<img alt="Group of young college students laugh and walk along a tree-lined pathway" ... />

Do

Descriptive and specific

Group of young college students laugh and walk along a tree-lined pathway.

<img alt="Photograph" ... />

Don't

Vague and unhelpful

Link text

Link text should be descriptive and make sense out of context. Screen reader users often navigate by links alone.

Do
Don't

Heading structure

Use headings to create a logical page structure and don't skip levels.

H1 — Title

H2 — Section

H3 — Subsection

Do

H1 — Title

H3 — Section (skipped h2)

Don't

Resources

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

ARIA Authoring Practices Guide

Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)