Overview
It is best to use consistent font and formatting throughout the entire document. Make sure font is no smaller than 12 points and has high contrast. Avoid changing the page layout as this will affect the reading order of a document therefore affecting screen readers.
Video of Text Styling, Formatting, and Color Usage Remediation
Text Styling and Font Best Practices
It is important to think about a font's height, width, and thickness as these also affect the readability. An accessible font does not exclude or slow down reading speed. The success of the automatic accessibility checking, tagging, and fixing greatly depends on the original format and layout of a document. Using heading, labels, tags, and alternate text helps organize the reading order correctly.
Best Practices:
Font Type: Use Sans-serif fonts like Arial, Veranda, and Lucida. These fonts are most likely to be accessible to all users across most platforms. Avoid Using all capital letters and excessive italics or underlines.
Font Color: Text within the document should be legible in a high contrast mode. It is best to use colors at opposite ends of the color spectrum. Black and white color schemes make it easier for those who are colorblind to distinguish text and shapes.
Colors: People with vision impairment might miss out on the meaning conveyed by colors. Consider adding an underline to color-code hyperlink text so that people with colorblindness know that the text is link even they cannot see the color.
Shapes: If colors are used to indicate a particular status like pass or fail. For example, underline hyperlinks to make visually distinct.
Practices to Avoid
Underlined text (use only for hyperlinks)
Why it’s inaccessible: Underling is conventionally used to indicate hyperlinks. Using underlines for emphasis or decoration can confuse users, especially those with cognitive disabilities or screen readers that rely on consistent visual cues to navigate content.
Instead try: Use bold or color (with sufficient contrast) for emphasis.
Italics
Why it’s inaccessible: Italicized text can be harder to read for people with dyslexia, cognitive disabilities, and low vision. The slanted style disrupts the familiar shape of letters, making word recognition slower and more difficult.
Instead try: Use plain text, or bold for emphasis. If necessary, use quotation marks or headings to distinguish content.
All capital letters
Why it’s inaccessible: Text in all caps loses the distinctive shapes of words that help with quick recognition. For screen readers, it may be read as a string of individual letters, which is confusing. It also reduces readability for people with cognitive impairments or dyslexia.
Instead try: Use Title Case (capitalizing first letter of every major word. ex. The Mystery of the Missing Red Ruby) or Sentence Case (capitalizing first letter of a sentence. ex. The mystery of the missing red ruby) for headings and emphasis. This preserves the word shape and improves readability for screen readers and people with dyslexia.
Color as only Cue
Why its inaccessible: People with color vision deficiencies, may not be able to distinguish between colors used to convey meaning. If color is the only indicator (ex. red highlighting for error marking) users may miss important information
Instead try: Combining color with text labels, icons, or patterns (ex, Use a red exclamation mark and the word “Error” instead of just red text). This ensures the meaning is conveyed without relying on color.
Justified text
Why it’s inaccessible: Full justification creates uneven spacing between words, which can disrupt the natural reading flow. This is especially problematic for people with dyslexia or those using screen magnifiers, as it makes tracking lines more difficult.
Instead try: Use left-aligned text. This maintains consistent spacing and improves readability, especially for screen readers and magnifiers.
Fancy fonts
Why it’s inaccessible: Decorative or serif fonts can be hard to read for people with low vision, dyslexia, or cognitive disabilities. Sans-serif fonts are cleaner and more legible, especially on screens. For a list of sans-serif fonts, click here.
Instead try: Using clean, sans-serif fonts like Arial, Verdana, or Helvetica. These fonts are easier to read on screens and more accessible for users with visual or cognitive impairments.
Low Color Contrast
Why it’s inaccessible: Text that doesn’t contrast well with its background is difficult to read for people with low vision or those in bright environments. WCAG guidelines recommend a minimum of 4.5:1 contrast ratio for readability.
Instead try: To ensure high contrast between text and background. Use tools like the WebAIM Contrast and Checker to verify. Aim for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1.
Images of Text
Why it’s inaccessible: Screen readers cannot interpret text embedded in images unless it’s accompanied by alternative text. This excludes users who rely on assistive technology from accessing the content.
Instead try: Use actual text in documents. If images of text are necessary, provide descriptive alternative text that conveys the same information.
Text Boxes for Layout
Why it’s inaccessible: Using visual-only layout techniques (like placing text in boxes for design purposes) can confuse screen readers, which read content linearly. If the reading order isn’t coded properly, users may get information out of context or in the wrong sequence.
Instead try: Use accessible layout tools that preserve reading order.