UMB’s Creating Accessible Content webpage provides guidance and simple design practices that will help you make digital content accessible.
Digital accessibility begins with awareness and action across the UMB community. New federal regulations that take effect April 24 require public universities, including UMB, to ensure that their websites, course content, digital documents, and online tools are accessible to the public and students with disabilities to access our programs, services, and activities. Over the next few months, we will be sharing information and tips each week in “The Elm Weekly.”
With the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II accessibility requirements taking effect on April 24, it is important to understand the core practices that make digital content accessible. UMB’s Creating Accessible Content webpage provides guidance and simple design practices that will help reach these goals.
The UMB Digital Accessibility website provides guidance on the foundational principles of accessibility and how they apply to the digital content we create and share across the University. These principles focus on ensuring that information is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust so that it can be accessed by members of the public and students with a wide range of abilities and assistive technologies.
Content should be organized with clear headings and proper structure so screen readers and users can easily navigate information. Text and visuals should have sufficient color contrast (generally at least a 4.5:1 ratio) to improve readability, especially for people with low vision. Images should include descriptive alternative (alt) text so screen readers can convey the meaning of visuals, and links should use descriptive wording instead of vague phrases like “click here.”
Applying these foundations when creating digital content helps reduce barriers for users and supports a more inclusive experience across UMB websites and digital platforms. Simply put, these small steps help ensure digital content is easier to read, navigate, and understand for members of the public and students using assistive technologies.
Learn more about creating accessible content on the UMB Digital Accessibility webpage.