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KB User's Guide - General Info - How to Create Accessible Documents
When creating web content for your KB, it is important to keep in mind all audiences that may view that content. Making sure that your content is accessible to all web users ensures that anyone can view and understand your sites. Not all users interact with the web in the same way, so it is vital that your content is accessible in as many ways as possible. For more information about the importance of accessible content, take a look at Introduction to Web Accessibility.
- Making Your Page Layout and Content Accessible
- Embedded Content
- Language
- Accessibility Tools and More Resources
- Creating Accessible KB Content (How-to Video)
Making Your Page Layout and Content Accessible
Headings
- H1: My Favorite Recipes (Document Title)
- H2: Quick and Easy
- H3: Spaghetti
- H3: Hamburgers
- H3: Tacos
- H4: Beef Tacos
- H4: Chicken Tacos
- H4: Fish Tacos
- H2: Some Assembly Required
- H3: Tuna Casserole
- H3: Lasagna
- H4: Vegetable Lasagna
- H4: Beef Lasagna
- H2: All-In
- H3: Crab-Stuffed Filet Mignon with Whiskey Peppercorn Sauce
- H3: Sun Dried Tomato and Pine Nut Stuffed Beef Tenderloin
- H2: Quick and Easy
IncludeDoc/Doc embeds
HTML
HTML is the base structure of a page, and as such, must be correct for accessibility tools to work correct. For more details on HTML structure you can read the WebAIM semantic structure guide.
Tables
Site Navigation
Keep page organization as consistent as possible between articles, so that when a user goes between articles, the information is presented in a way that makes sense to them. If page layout/navigation differs between pages, it can end up in user frustration, and if a user is using something like a screen reader, only more so. Keep heading layout and link structuring as close as possible in between documents for easy navigation.
Color Contrast
Good color contrast ensures that those with visual disabilities can use your pages. There are two standards for color contrast, AA (4.5:1) and AAA (7:1). you should target AA but AAA is nice to have. You can use a color picker browser extension and then check color combinations for compliance with the WebAIM contrast checker.
Embedded Content
Images and Alt Text
Examples

- Alt text needing improvement: Image of a bike with a flat rear tire in a parking lot; green background.
- Better alt text: Closeup of rear flat tire on a bicycle
- Explanation: The first example is too descriptive and contains extraneous text. The parking lot and background are not important to understanding the meaning of the image in this context.
Now imagine we are writing an article about alternative remote working environments. This article includes the image below:
- Alt text needing improvement: computer coffee iced shop cold drink earbuds phone
- Better alt text: A table at a coffee shop with an iced coffee, an open laptop with earbuds plugged in, a notebook with a pen, and a cell phone
- Explanation: The first example uses "keyword stuffing" instead of describing the image. This is confusing for a screen reader user and forces them to guess what the image actually is.
Links
Videos
Videos should not autoplay when embedded, so that they do not confuse and annoy users visiting your webpage. Subtitles or a transcript should also be included whenever possible so those with hearing disabilities can access your content.
Language
Accessible Language
Bold and Italics
Code
String welcome = "Hello"; System.out.println(welcome);
Accessibility Tools and More Resources
Creating Accessible KB Content (How-to Video)
If you want a detailed overview of web content accessibility as a whole, this presentation from Kurt Murckstadt from the 2021 KB User Group Meeting goes into far more detail. See the document Creating Accessible KB Content to follow along with the presentation.