20 January 2025

How to make your e-text documents and Accessible PDF’s accessible

What does accessibility mean and why is it important?

Accessibility simply refers to how user-friendly something is. If your document is accessible this means it can be read and understood by everyone.

Different formats are accessible for different reasons and to people with varying disabilities. For individuals who are blind or have a visual impairment, a document might be considered accessible if they can navigate it using accessible software such as screen readers and magnifiers.

As of 2023, over 2 million people in the UK live with sight loss and 360,000 people are registered as Blind or partially sighted (Source: RNIB). Yet, less than 10% of all documents produced every year are available in accessible formats.

In this blog we want to focus on what accessibility means to someone who is visually impaired or blind. We want to talk about accessible Word documents and PDFs, also called E-text.

E-text simply means any text that can be read digitally such as a book, pdf and even a text message. If your document is online and accessible, it’s an E-text document!

Many factors can contribute to an E-text document being inaccessible. Inadequate formatting such as small text with improper headings and visual elements like poor colour contrast and images without alternative descriptions. Click here to find out

5 ways A2i increase the digital accessibility of your e-text PDFs.

How do I immediately make my documents accessible?

If you think your documents might be inaccessible, talk to us. Alternatively, you can do a basic accessibility check as advised by the Government. This can be useful when you’re short on time.

1. Meaningful titles and headings

Ensure your document has a title that really explains what it is for. This will ensure that your reader knows exactly what to expect.

Split your document into digestible sections that also have meaningful headings. Headings are like mini titles at the beginning of each new section.

Meaningful titles and headings allow screen reader users to seamlessly scan the document and jump to the sections that are relevant to them.

You can tag your headings correctly with the styles gallery in Microsoft Word. They look like this,

If your headings are styled as bold, the screen reader will fail to identify them as headings.

2. Clear instructions

If your document contains instructions, for example, ‘click here…’ then they should be clear and not rely on a user’s ability to see the document. For example, ‘click the round button’ relies on the user being able to see said ‘round button.’

3. Link text

Write clear link texts that explain where the link will take the user.

A bad example would be ‘more information’.

A good example would be ‘read the full story here’.

The first example does not describe where the link will go or what it is for, unlike the second example.

4. Images, charts and tables

You should describe any visual elements of your e-text document such as images, charts and tables, in alternative text, aka alt text.

Alt text is a written description of an image for visually impaired readers. A screen reader will read this description out loud when the cursor reaches the image. Alt text is also included in large print and braille.

If you would like find out how visually impaired people access your e-text documents, click here to read our blog.

How A2i can help make your documents accessible

The accessibility guide above is a great way to make your documents more accessible, especially when you’re tight on time. But why not get advice from the experts? We can ensure that your documents are fully accessible and meet all transcriptions standards established by UKAFF.

How to place an order with A2i

1. Email your document

Simply email your document to info@a2i.co.uk and tell us the format you require if you have a specific deadline.

2. Receive a quote

We will send you a fixed price quote as soon as we can. Additionally, we will state the turnaround time (usually 3 working days).

3. Sit back and relax

Our professional transcribers will transcribe your document and send it to you or directly to your customers.

If you have any queries about accessible formats or A2i’s services please get in touch.

You can send us an email: info@a2i.co.uk

fill out our online form

or call our telephone: 01179 44 00 44

You can also find our social media here:

Twitter: @A2iTranscribes

LinkedIn: a2i-transcription-services

Instagram: a2itranscription

YouTube: @a2itranscription