Accessible Social Media Checklist

Follow content related WCAG criteria for captions and post descriptions

  1. DO NOT WRITE IN ALL CAPS
    • Screen readers announce text written in all capital letters, letter by letter. 
    • Text written in all caps can be very difficult to read in long strings, for all users, but especially those with cognitive impairments and reading disorders.
  2. Avoid misspellings
    • Misspelled words are difficult for all users, but especially those who rely on screen reader technology.
    • Screen readers will try to pronounce the word as it is written and will not try to correct the mistake.

 

Follow visual related WCAG criteria for images

  1. Don’t embed text into images
    • Those who rely on screen reader technology will not have access to that text, and those who are low vision or color blind may have a difficult time reading the text.
    • If the image includes text, be sure to include that same text in the image description or caption.
  2. Pay attention to color contrast
    • Color contrast is very important if the information in your image is conveying important information like a date, or time, so users who are low vision or color blind can still access that information.
  3. Do not distinguish by color alone
    • Color should not be the only way to distinguish important information in an image such as in charts, graphs, and other infographics, so those who are color blind can easily distinguish the important information.
  4. All images should include alternative text
    • All social platforms that allow static images also allow alternative text for these images.
    • Alternative text should be short and succinct at about 10-15 words, describing the content of the image within the context of why it is being used.
  5. Include image descriptions
    • For images conveying important information or important context, it is best to include a more detailed description of what is going on in the image, at the bottom of your post.

 

Follow visual related WCAG criteria for videos

  1. Avoid excessive blinking, flashing, or strobing video
    • Avoid any issues for those who may have a seizure disorder or other cognitive disorder.
    • Avoid video trends using the strobe or flashing overlays and effects.
  2. Caption all videos with high contrast text
    • All videos should have captions.
    • Captions are not useful if a user cannot read them.
    • Make sure all captions include a solid (or mostly solid) background for readability.
  3. Make sure captions are not covered by platform content
    • Captions should be placed in an area that does not get covered by platform controls like the heart, share, or comment buttons for example.

 

Follow #hashtag best practices

  1. #AlwaysUseCamelCase for hashtags
    • Camel case requires making each word in the phrase capitalized.
    • This creates a more readable sentence for those who are visual, and enables screen readers to read the hashtag word for word.
  2. Include hashtag dumps in the first comment, not the post itself
    • Including the hashtag dump in the post vs the comment does not change the reachability or searchability.
    • Including the hashtag dump in the post creates a very frustrating experience for those whole rely on screen readers, as it becomes more difficult to skip over.
  3. Avoid suggested hashtags
    • Avoid suggested hashtags IF the hashtag is not in camel case. 
    • Camel case vs non camel case hashtags search the same way, the only differences are visual and how it is visually saved in the system.
    • If camel case starts becoming more popular, then these will start being the suggested hashtags.

 

Follow accessible social media best practices

  1. Use emojis sparingly, and avoid emoticons
    • Emojis are cute to use, but are not always read by screen readers as it may visually appear.
    • Use emojis sparingly. If emojis are used, do not break up content with emojis and save them for the end of your caption or description.
    • Emoticons are images created from text and are not read by screen readers in a human readable way.
  2. Avoid decorative fonts
    • Decorative fonts that are not the platform or system's font, are just mathematical symbols that look like cool fonts, and become completely illegible to screen reader users.
    • These are not read as english letters, and cannot be translated.
    • These fonts are mathematical symbols that look like text and are read as "mathematical symbol name."
  3. Use shortened URLs from sites like bit.ly
    • Not only does this help save character space, but it also gives you the ability to use more human readable format for URLs.
  4. Repeat content on multiple platforms
    • All users have a platform preference based on content, UI, accessibility, and so on.
    • Posting variations of the same content on multiple platforms ensures all users will get the content from your organization.