Publish accessible website content every day

Build a structure people can navigate

Give the page a descriptive main heading and organise sections with headings in a logical order. A heading names the section; it is more than a visual style. Do not skip levels to achieve a particular appearance. W3C WAI’s headings tutorial explains how people use them to navigate.

Put key information early, use lists for actual sets of items, explain less familiar abbreviations and make process steps explicit. Clear structure also helps review, translation and maintenance.

Write useful links and image alternatives

A link should identify its destination or action when read out of context. Replace “click here” with the document, service or step name. When repeated link labels lead to different destinations, add enough context to tell them apart.

For an informative image, write alternative text that conveys its purpose on this page rather than mechanically listing objects. A decorative image may have empty alt text. W3C WAI’s image examples distinguish these cases. Also check image rights and quality using the visuals guide.

Choose the alternative from the image’s function on this page. The same photo may convey information in an article and merely repeat equivalent text elsewhere. When an image is the sole content of a link, its alternative must communicate the destination or action. Describing an icon’s shape alone does not explain what the control does.

A deliberately empty alternative, alt="", differs from a missing attribute. For a complex chart, provide a short identification and the necessary information in nearby accessible text or a table; do not squeeze the entire analysis into the attribute. A caption, credit and alternative serve different purposes. Review the result in context and in each language without turning the alternative into a keyword inventory.

• Descriptive headings.
• Links understood out of context.
• Alternative text suited to image purpose.

Scroll the table horizontally to read every column. With a keyboard, focus the table area and use the arrow keys.

• W3C WAI : Alternative text decision tree

  Consulted on 22 October 2026; choose alternatives according to image context and function.

Handle tables, documents and media

Use a table when rows and columns make data easier to compare; identify headers and explain units. Do not use a table simply to position text. For a chart, state the central finding and provide enough underlying information to understand it.

Before publishing a PDF or video, check the file’s accessibility and relevant alternatives such as captions and transcripts. A link to a file does not make its content accessible. Where the information is essential, a structured HTML version is often easier to read and update.

Build a check into publishing

Ask another person to review a representative page: can they understand headings, links and instructions without spoken help? Navigate by keyboard, enlarge the text and check alternative text in the final HTML. An editor preview may differ from the published page.

Repeat these checks for new content and translations. If a template prevents correct headings, labels or tables, report it to the technical team. The accessibility testing guide covers broader page checks.

• Published page reviewed.
• Translations and files checked.
• Template defects reported to the owner.

Structure a long document

Proposed case: a procedure uses large characters but lacks heading hierarchy. Visual presentation does not necessarily define its reading structure.

Check headings, lists, labels and alternatives in final content. Keep necessary steps in a clear order; a text image does not replace a text-based answer.

• Record heading hierarchy
• Check steps and labels
• Keep a readable version without images

• Connect a page to its file

  Publish useful, accessible downloadable documents