Overview

Assistive technologies are tools that allow people with disabilities to read what is on their screen, and to help them carry out tasks online. These tools include:

• Screen readers
• Screen magnifiers
• Assistive listening devices
• Voice recognition devices
• Braille displays

People who are blind or have low vision often use a screen reader, which converts what is on the screen into text that is read aloud, or sent to a Braille device. Alternatively they might use a screen magnifier to enlarge the content to a scale which is easier for them to read for themselves.

Some users are unable to use a mouse, and instead will use their keyboard, or a voice activated tool to navigate web pages.

There are simple things we can do to make pages friendlier to assistive technologies, and to make the experience of using the website more pleasant for people who need these tools.

Content

Services can be complex, and there is often a lot of information to display on a single page. This can be cumbersome for assisted technology such as a screen reader, so it is important that the information is laid out in a logical manner.

• Use headings and sub-headings in a sequential order. Remember, the user may not be able to take cues from the styling to understand what the headings relate to
• Use tables selectively. Where they cannot be avoided, make sure you have also summarised the table content in a supporting paragraph for those who cannot see the data.
• Avoid using infographic images to display information where possible, and make sure to always summarise key points in text format or by using descriptive alt-text
• Never use manually formatted text. Using the proper text formatting tools when adding content to the page allows the assistive technologies to announce when the content is a header, a list, a link or an image
• Use proper spelling, grammar and plain English to make the content easy to understand

The Accessibility Strategy for content page contains more information about making your web content accessible.

Landmarks, links and headings

Using assistive technologies can transform a user’s experience of a web page into a linear experience, and the order in which they hear or see headings and links is important to their understanding of the content.

For example, it is common for someone using a screen reader to have it announce all of the headings first, to get a feel for what information is contained on the web page. They might then use those headings to skip forward to a specific portion of the content, so that they do not have to spend time listening to the entire page.

Landmarks are the building blocks of a web page, and when used correctly they establish the main structure of the page layout. The Accessible hierarchy and layouts page contains more information about landmarks and their purpose.

Focusing on landmarks, links or headings makes the website quicker to navigate. However, it means those elements will be read out of the context of their surroundings, so they must be easy to understand in isolation.

• Headings must have meaningful titles which describe the theme of the content that follows
• Headings must be used in sequential order, prioritising content hierarchy over visual styling
• Links must have a unique and meaningful title which describes the page, form or website it links through to
  • Avoid using vague titles for links, such as “click here” or “learn more”
  • Do not the repeat the same link title for different purposes on a page. For example, using “read more” as the link title for multiple news articles
  • Never write out the whole web address. It takes a screen reader a long time to read out, and it can be very difficult to follow
• Landmarks should have meaningful labels to make their purpose clear and specific