19.09.2025
teaching

Digital accessibility

Digital accessibility means that digital materials – whether they are documents, slides, videos or web pages – are usable by all people, regardless of their physical, sensory or cognitive disabilities. This includes, for example, screen reader users, people with colour blindness, learners with mobility difficulties and those who need simplified language.

In a university, digital accessibility means that all learning materials and e-learning environments must be accessible to both students and lecturers, ensuring equal opportunities for learning and teaching. Digital accessibility is not just a technical requirement – it is an integral part of inclusive and high-quality education.

By following the recommendations of WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) and the European digital accessibility standard EN 301 549 (PDF, 2.2MB, opens in new window), we can create digital materials that are understandable, usable and accessible to everyone.

  • The content of a document or web page should be in a logical order and understandable to screen reader users.
  • Use Microsoft Word's built-in styles, such as Heading 1, Heading 2 for headings and subheadings, Normal for paragraphs, and the corresponding styles for formatting lists and other elements.
  • Make sure that the headings follow the correct hierarchy.
  • If necessary, create an automatic table of contents based on the formatted headings (References → Table of Contents).
  • You can check the structure and order of the headings in View → Navigation Pane → Document Map.
  • The text must be machine-readable – avoid presenting it as an image.
  • Align the text to the left, do not use parallel alignment.
  • Prefer easily readable sans serif fonts, such as Arial or Calibri, and avoid unusual fonts.
  • Make sure that the text size is sufficient: at least 12 pt in documents, at least 18 pt on slides, at least 14 px on web pages, preferably 16 px.
  • Use a line spacing of at least 1.5 and a paragraph spacing that corresponds to the height of at least two letters.
  • Avoid continuous capitalization, underlining and conveying meaning only through color.
  • Use bold to emphasize text, italic for foreign language expressions.
  • To ensure good readability, the color contrast between the text and the background must be at least 4.5:1. Use the appropriate application (opens in a new window) to check the contrast.
  • Each informative image must be accompanied by a description as alternative text (alt-text). This is not the same as an image caption. If no alt-text is specified, the screen reader will read the file name, which may not be informative in essence. For illustrative images, you can omit the description – enter empty quotation marks (“”) in the alt-text box or use the Mark as Decorative function (button or checkbox) to mark the image as decorative.
  • Add a caption to the image in the form: Figure #. Explanation of the content of the figure. Source.
  • Avoid conveying information only through color (e.g. in graphs) – add textual explanations directly to the elements or use different patterns for differentiation.
  • Place the image in a logical place within the text so that it is clear in which order the content should be read.
  • Tables should be created using the software's built-in command (Insert Table), not as images.
  • Add a title to each table in the form: Table #. Explanation of the table content. Source.
  • Use a table header row to make the content understandable to screen readers (Table Design → Header Row, First Column).
  • Avoid using tables as mere design elements. Also, avoid complex solutions, such as multi-level merged cells, which make readability and accessibility difficult.
  • Add a caption to the video in the format: Video #. Explanation of the video content. Source.
  • If possible, add a meaningful description to the video that helps you understand the visual content.
  • Create a textual transcription of the video that captures all the speech and important sounds.
  • Add subtitles to the speech and also describe important audio elements (e.g. background noise, music, sound effects).
  • If the video displays information only as text (e.g. on slides), present it orally as well to ensure access for people with hearing impairments or those using screen readers.
  • Make sure the video platform you are using supports digital accessibility – for example, Panopto, UTTV or YouTube.
  • Include a textual transcription of the audio that captures the entire speech and important sounds.
  • Make it clear where to find the transcription – for example, via a link or file name.
  • If possible, add subtitles to the speech and also describe important audio elements (e.g. background noise, music, sound effects).
  • Avoid automatic playback of audio – the user must have control over listening to the content (e.g. play/pause function).
  • Use descriptive links, such as “View instructions” – not generic phrases like “click here”.
  • Avoid writing out URLs unless the material is being distributed on paper or you want to emphasize the URL.
  • Make sure that links visually stand out from the rest of the text (e.g., through color, underlining, or style).
  • Make sure that each link is functional and leads to the desired content.
  • If the link opens in a new window, clearly inform the user.
  • If you use a QR code, include a textual explanation of what content is opened and where it is located.
  • Add a Title to the document or file that reflects its content.
  • Set the language for the file to support correct display and screen reader support.
  • Add author information, keywords, and a short description (Description) to improve the file's discoverability and understandability.
  • To make a PDF file digitally accessible, you must first ensure that the original document (e.g. .DOCX) is accessible. To check the document, use the Review → Check Accessibility function in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint and correct any errors found.
  • Then export the document to PDF format (File → Save As…). When exporting, select the Best for electronic distribution and accessibility (uses Microsoft online service) option. Do not use the Print to PDF function, as it saves the content as an image and does not preserve accessibility elements.
  • After exporting, open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat and add the necessary metadata: title, author, subject and keywords (File → Properties → Description → Title, Author, Subject, Keywords) and language (File → Properties → Advanced → Language).
  • Finally, check the accessibility of the file with specialized validation tools, such as PAVE PDF checker (opens in a new window) or PAC (opens in a new window).