As a content creator at UCSB, you are responsible for ensuring that all documents, PDFs, presentations, webpages, and other forms of media posted publicly are accessible.
This primarily consists of the following principles:
- Titles and headings: Must be unique, descriptive, and provide a hierarchical structure
- Readability: Design must be clear and reduce cognitive load
- Links: Must be distinct, easy to find, and descriptive of what happens if the link is clicked
- Color: Ensure text has enough contrast and color is NOT the only way of conveying meaning
- Alternative text: All meaningful images should have a descriptive text alternative for screen reader software
- Multimedia: All audio and video must have appropriate alternatives (i.e. transcripts, captions, descriptive audio)
Start Here
New to digital accessibility?
Start with this introductory self-paced course to learn accessibility fundamentals and a basic pre-publishing workflow.
Planning remediation for existing content?
Use this guide to inventory, prioritize, and plan remediation of existing materials.
Ready to test or remediate content?
Use this toolkit for step-by-step guidance on testing websites, documents, and PDFs and addressing common issues.
Looking for more in-depth training? Explore the "Unlocking Digital Accessibility" Workshop Series.
Resource Library
Use these resources to create accessible PDFs, evaluate existing PDFs, and remediate common accessibility issues.
- PDF Remediation Checklist — Review the essential steps to identify and fix common accessibility issues in PDF files.
- Adobe Acrobat Pro — Use Acrobat’s accessibility tools to check, tag, and remediate PDF documents on Windows or macOS.
- PAC Accessibility Checker — Run additional PDF accessibility checks on Windows to identify tagging and structural issues.
- PDFix Desktop — Test and remediate PDF accessibility issues on Windows, macOS, or Linux.
- Creating Accessible PDF Files — Learn how to create PDFs with accessibility in mind from the start.
- Remediating PDF Files — Watch a recorded training on how to identify and correct accessibility issues in existing PDF documents.
Use these resources to create accessible documents, evaluate existing files, and remediate common accessibility issues in Google Docs and Microsoft Word.
- Accessible Microsoft Word Document Checklist — Use this checklist to review headings, links, images, tables, color, and other accessibility requirements in Word.
- UCSB Letterhead Templates — Start with accessible, UCSB-branded Word letterhead templates for official documents.
- UCSB Document Template — Use an accessible campus-branded Word template as a starting point for general documents.
- Grackle Extension for Google Docs — Check Google Docs for common accessibility issues and receive guidance for correcting them.
- Grackle Docs Overview — Watch this short video for steps to get started using Grackle with Google Docs.
Accessible UCSB-branded Google Docs templates can be accessed from your campus Google account when starting a new document and selecting “From a template.” Please update any existing departmental Docs templates to ensure they utilize the new accessible campuswide templates.
Use these resources to create accessible presentations, evaluate existing slide decks, and remediate common accessibility issues in Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint.
- Google Slides Accessibility Guidance — Follow recommended practices for creating accessible presentations in Google Slides.
- Accessible Slide Decks Checklist — Review key accessibility requirements for presentation structure, images, links, color, and reading order.
- UCSB PowerPoint Template — Start with an accessible, UCSB-branded PowerPoint template.
- Grackle Extension for Google Slides — Scan Google Slides for accessibility issues and receive guidance for correcting them.
- Grackle Slides Overview — Watch this short video for steps to get started using Grackle with Google Slides.
Accessible UCSB-branded Google Slides templates can be accessed from your campus Google account when starting a new document and selecting “From a template.” Please update any existing departmental Slides templates to ensure they utilize the new accessible campuswide templates.
Use these resources to create accessible spreadsheets, evaluate existing files, and remediate common accessibility issues in Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel.
- Spreadsheet Accessibility Checklist — Review recommended practices for creating accessible spreadsheets, including structure, labels, tables, and color use.
- UCSB Basic Spreadsheet Template — Start with an accessible campus spreadsheet template in Google Sheets.
- UCSB Basic Spreadsheet Template — Use the accessible Excel version of the campus spreadsheet template.
- Grackle Extension for Google Sheets — Check Google Sheets for common accessibility issues and receive guidance for correcting them
- Grackle Sheets Overview — Watch this short video for steps to get started using Grackle with Google Sheets.
Need assistance?
The ITS Training & Development team provides one-on-one assistance with remediating digital documents and multimedia. To get started before your consultation, take the training!
Please make an appointment using the Digital Assets Accessibility Consultation calendar.