Why accessible content matters
At Queen Mary, we want everyone to be able to access, understand and use the content we provide.
Whether you are creating a webpage, presentation, document, email, social media post or video, accessibility should be considered from the start. Accessible content helps remove barriers for people with disabilities and makes information easier for everyone to find and understand.
Legal requirement
Universities have legal responsibilities to make their services and information accessible to people with disabilities.
- The Equality Act 2010 protects people with disabilities from discrimination and places a duty on organisations to make reasonable adjustments.
- The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 also require public sector organisations, including universities, to make their websites and mobile applications accessible and publish an accessibility statement.
Accessibility is not something we should consider only when someone identifies a barrier or asks for an adjustment. We should make our content accessible from the outset.
It supports inclusion
Inclusion is one of Queen Mary's values. Making our content accessible is one practical way we can put that value into action.
People interact with information in different ways. Someone may use a screen reader, keyboard navigation, captions or magnification. Someone else may benefit from information that is broken into manageable sections, uses clear colour contrasts or avoids unnecessarily complex language.
We cannot always know who will need accessible content, or how someone will access the information we produce. Designing for accessibility means removing barriers before they affect someone.
And accessibility is not only relevant to students. It is important to remember that our colleagues, prospective students, researchers, applicants, visitors, partners and members of the public all interact with Queen Mary content.
Useful for all
Accessibility features often improve the experience for everyone, not just people with disabilities.
- Clear headings make a page easier to scan.
- Plain language makes information easier to understand.
- Captions are useful when watching a video without sound.
- Descriptive links make it easier to know where a link will take you.
- Well-structured documents are easier to navigate and find information in.
When we remove barriers by providing accessible features, we also make content clearer and more usable for everyone else. Good accessibility is therefore good content practice.
Make accessibility part of your process
Accessibility should not be something we check at the end of creating content. Consider it when you are planning, writing, designing, and publishing. Before you publish content, ask yourself:
- Can people with different needs and ways of accessing information use this content?
- Is it structured clearly and logically?
- Is the language clear and easy to understand?
- Have I provided alternatives where they are needed, such as captions or text alternatives for images?
- Can someone navigate and interact with it without relying on a mouse, colour or sound?
- Am I creating a document or format that could create unnecessary barriers?
Making content accessible is everyone's responsibility at Queen Mary. You do not need to be an accessibility expert to make a difference. Small, consistent changes to the way we create content can make a significant difference to the people who rely on it.