This is the second blog in a series titled "Social Media & AllY." See part one here - "Social Media & AllY - Part 1: Design Elements & Written Content."
Part two of a two-part blog series explores practical tips for creating accessible social media content. Topics include fonts, color contrast, hashtags, images, memes, videos, and more. The goal is to provide a checklist to help you create the most accessible social media content.
Today’s topics are images, memes, and videos.
Images
Alt Text—All images that provide essential information should include descriptive ALT text, invisible to sighted users but read by a screen reader. ALT text will appear when the link to an image file is broken. For example,
The exact wording of the ALT text is influenced by the image's context and the person creating it.
Image Descriptions— Image descriptions serve a similar purpose to ALT text, providing visual context for people who cannot see the image. However, unlike ALT text, image descriptions are visible to everyone. For example,
Courtesy of ResearchGate
Image Captions—An image caption is a brief explanation accompanying a picture online. It clarifies the content and provides additional context for the viewer. For example,
Ingredients for Pesto Genovese (fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic cloves, grated parmesan cheese, black pepper, olive oil.
Accessible Memes—For people with visual impairments, appreciating the humor or message of a meme can be difficult without additional context. That's where ALT text, image descriptions, and captions become essential. For more information on creating accessible memes, read " Tips for Accessible Meme Making."
Animated GIFs—Animated GIFs can trigger seizures, headaches, or other aversions for people with varying sensory processing disorders like epilepsy. That’s why it is critical to design animated GIFs that stop playing after 5 seconds or offer users a way to pause the animation. It’s best not to contain rapid blinking or flashing. Also, animated GIFs must include descriptive ALT text for screen reader users.
Emojis - Just like how screen readers read ALT text to describe an image, they read Unicode strings, which serve as the equivalent of ALT text for emojis and interpret emojis. For screen readers that can process emojis (not all do), they announce them in the sequence they appear within the text. This is how a string of emojis sounds:
As you can hear, it’s best to use strings of emojis very sparingly...better yet, not at all.
Video
There are three video text alternatives: subtitles, captions, and transcripts. The latter can also be used for audio-only content, such as podcasts. There are two types of captions: closed captions, which are "baked" into the video, and open captions, a separate text file users can access through a link, generally located to the left of the video.
So, what’s the difference between subtitles and captions? This short video from VMG Studios explains it well.
Transcripts are written versions of spoken audio or video content. They provide a textual representation of the words spoken in a video, often including timestamps to indicate when specific words or phrases appear.
In the screenshot below, a red box highlights the image ALT text that the screen reader announces during a video. A red arrow at the bottom indicates a button labeled "Show Transcript."
In the screenshot below, the transcript appears to the right of the video. A red arrow points to the text in the transcript that matches the image ALT text announced by the screen reader.
To view the entire video, visit "Accessible infographic's hidden transcript" on YouTube.
Accessible social media isn’t that much different from an accessible document or website. It just takes planning, thoughtful implementation of accessibility best practices, and adherence to WCAG guidance criteria.
See part one here - "Social Media & AllY - Part 1: Design Elements & Written Content"
