5 ways to make your digital report ADA accessible

By Dionna Dash

When creating a digital report, you have to keep your audience in mind – not just who you’re writing for, but how they’re interacting with your report. While digital reports can help to increase stakeholder engagement, they can also easily fall into some accessibility pitfalls, making it difficult for readers with visual or auditory impairments or color blindness to fully experience the report.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) suggests a number of standards for web design to avoid these common errors and make your report inclusive and easy to read. We’ve condensed those suggestions into five key tips on how to make your reports ADA accessible, ensuring they’re readable and impactful for all who receive it.

1. Color contrast

When writing a report, you’ll want to use your brand colors. Whether these are bright, bold shades or darker hues, make sure to put them on a background that offers strong contrast. 

For example, if your text is bright orange, make your background a white or cream shade. If your text is a very light gray, have a black or dark-colored background. Not only does this make the text readable to people experiencing low vision, but it puts less strain on your readers’ eyes.

2. Font size and zoom

When you have a text-heavy report, it’s tempting to make the words smaller in order to fit more on a page. However, having a larger text size will make your impact stories easier to see and, therefore, easier to read. Including elements like zoom-in capabilities will allow readers to customize the text to a size that works for them. And if you’re creating a digital report, text boxes with scrolling capability will let you fit more text onto one page without sacrificing a larger font size.

3. Video captions and transcripts

Videos are a great visual tool to include in a digital impact report. They provide a literal glimpse into how your organization helps its beneficiaries. When using videos, be sure to include synchronized captions so that readers with auditory impairments can understand what’s being said. Another option is to add a video transcript, just underneath the video, so that your stakeholders can read instead of listen.

4. Alt text

Photos are another important element to add to your reports. Don’t forget to include text alternatives, often called “alt text,” to these images. Alt text can be added to photos, infographics, charts and other visual elements. These captions should be short and descriptive, functioning as a guide for people who may not be able to see the images and may be using screen readers to hear the alt text read aloud. These captions also boost search engine optimization (SEO) when used on a webpage.

5. Organized layout

Having a consistent, organized layout may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s actually a crucial element to making your digital report accessible. Clearly delineated headings, menus, links and buttons will help all readers with navigation, and will allow people using screen readers to understand where they are on the page.