Web accessibility is a crucial aspect in today's digital age, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can access and use information online.

Regulations such as the “Stanca Law” and the European Accessibility Act have mandated that companies display their accessibility statement. Adopting these measures is not only a legal obligation but also an investment opportunity for companies to enhance their reputation by promoting social inclusion.

However, when it comes to digital communication, we cannot overlook the necessity of accessibility regarding the documents we share. As GreatPixel, we have indeed adopted a new policy to emphasize our commitment to creating accessible documents.

What makes a document accessible? 

Of course, we must refer to the World Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
 Let's look at some basic principles that make our documents accessible, always referring to the WCAG for PDF.

1. Color Contrast and Readability
As with the web, it is important to use color contrast and element sizes that ensure readability. Here are some of our preferred tools:
– Contrastchecker
– Accessible Palette

2. Always Use Alternative Text for Images
Just like with websites, it is essential to provide users with descriptive text that explains the images in the document so that everyone can understand the content.

3. Ensure a Good Reading Order

To access the document, screen readers use tags to understand its structure. Therefore, it is necessary to:

  • Structure the layout with headings and paragraphs
    To identify the textual content with tags, it is necessary to structure the document with headings and paragraphs. Therefore, it is advisable to use a template that distinguishes them within the content.
  • Create a Logical Reading Order
    If multiple elements need to be included on the same page, arrange them in a way that provides a sensible reading order.
  • Use Few Elements
    Avoid creating too much confusion within the document. Keep it simple! Users will appreciate the effort to present information in a concise and organized manner.

4. Create Bookmarks for Navigation
If the tool used does not generate them automatically, insert bookmarks within the PDF to make the document's structure accessible. This can be done using any PDF editing application. When exporting the document to PDF format, ensure that it contains tags.

Tags identify the elements (text, graphics, images) that will then be read by the screen reader and are generated automatically by the program.
Using tools like Adobe Acrobat, you can verify that the creation of tags has occurred correctly.

Emanuele Giovanili, Alessia Damone