Web Accessibility at Fordham University Libraries: Tips for Accessible Documents & Slides

Fonts - Select fonts that are easy to read and standard for most devices. Avoid using many different fonts at once.

Font Styles and Sizes - Avoid extensively using font styles to convey meaning such as italics or bold. Select font sizes that are large enough to be easily read with a minimum of 12-point font for documents and 24-point font for presentations.

Color - As with font styles, avoid relying on color to convey meaning.

Contrast - For readability, your text and background should have sufficient color contrast. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) require a contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal size text and 3:1 for large size text. Try using a contrast checking tool to test your course content:

When you include a link in a class document, make sure the text is descriptive. Avoid generic phrases such as "click here."

Use headings and subheadings to provide structure to your documents and presentations.

Similar to the hierarchy of an outline, headings and subheadings make it easier to understand main points, supporting points, and the like.

File names should be short, descriptive, and consistent. They should briefly convey the content of the document.

You may need to change the file name to enhance accessibility; for example, articles downloaded from databases may have a default name of numbers and letters that give no indication of the documents' contents.

Using tables for layout or design purposes will require accessibility considerations. Screen readers will only read tables in a specific order if the document creator uses accessibility features.