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Headings and subheadings should be identified using the built-in heading features of the authoring program. This enables screen reader users to understand how the page is organized and quickly navigate to content of interest. Most screen readers have features that enable users to jump quickly between headings with a single keystroke.

Additional Resources

Alternative text (alt text) describes visual only information such as images, maps, charts, and graphs for screen readers and is necessary for users who are unable to see images. If images are purely decorative and contain no informative content, they do not require a description. However, they should be marked as decorative so screen readers know to skip them.

Guidelines for writing alternative text include:

• Focus on the purpose for the inclusion of the visual information in the text.
• Write concise descriptions that move from general info to specifics.
• Consider context and objectivity when determining what to write.
• Always consider your audience in tone and language.

Additional Resources

When creating a hyperlink in your document, use text that describes what users will see when they click on it. Never use "Click Here," "Here," or long URLs.

Screen reader users can pull up a list of links on a page and navigate through that list using the descriptive link text alone. Links like "click here" and "more" are meaningless out of context.

Additional Resources

People who are color-blind or have low vision or other print disabilities may not be able to perceive certain colors. Information should not be conveyed solely through color; text, shapes, patterns, or other visual indicators should be used in addition to color to convey information. Color should provide sufficient contrast.

Additional Resources

Content organized as a list should be created using the list controls that are provided in the document authoring software. Most authoring tools provide controls for adding bulleted or numbered lists. When lists are explicitly created as lists, this helps screen readers understand how the content is organized and how many items are on the list.

Additional Resource

Tables in documents are useful for communicating relationships between data, especially when those relationships are best expressed in rows and columns. Tables should not be used to control layout of the document.

If your data can be presented in a bulleted or numbered list, use a list instead of a table. If your data is best presented in a table, try to keep the table simple. If the table is complex, consider whether you could divide it into multiple smaller tables with a heading above each.

Be sure to clearly identify column and row headings in your tables and add a caption to your table.

Additional Resources

All audio/video content—whether instructional, informational, marketing, or promotional—must be accessible. Videos should have captions and include audio descriptions where necessary. Audio resources must be transcribed.

Captioning is synchronized text that displays on the screen during a video. Videos must be captioned so that individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing can understand the information contained in sounds and dialogue. Captions can be either open or closed. UM's standard is closed captions. Open captions are always visible and cannot be turned off, which may distract some individuals. Closed captions provide users with the ability to turn them on and off.

Audio descriptions are the verbal depiction of key visual elements in media and live productions and provide important information to persons with a vision loss, literacy need, or loss of cognitive abilities.

Captioning services are available on campus.

• Panopto, UM’s video capturing and editing platform, provides important features to help ensure video content is accessible to all users. These accessibility features include automatically generated closed captions and user-created audio descriptions. Learn more Panopto and its accessibility features in the self-enrollable, self-paced training .
• Office for Disability Equity (ODE) provides captioning and audio descriptions to instructors for qualified students with disabilities.
• Rev.com is a specialized service that offers both human-edited and AI-generated captions, transcriptions, and translations. It is useful for detailed captioning/transcriptions of complex audio or integral visual material (such as charts, photographs, diagrams, maps, etc.). Please note that Rev.com requires payment by Procard and that the initial setup process may take several business days or longer to complete. Learn .