Make your marketing usable for everyone: seven habits to start with

Who this helps, in everyday terms

Some people cannot see a screen well. Some cannot hear a video. Some cannot use a mouse. Others have a short-term problem, such as a broken arm, a bright sun on the phone or a noisy bus.

Good accessibility helps all of them. Captions help in a quiet office and on a loud street. Big buttons help thumbs as well as tremors. When you build for the hardest case, the easy cases get better too.

Pictures: write alt text that does a job

Alt text is a short written description of an image. Screen readers read it aloud, and it appears if the picture fails to load. Describe what the picture shows and why it matters on the page. For example, write three-tier wedding cake with white flowers, not cake image.

Skip alt text for pure decoration, and never stuff it with keywords. If the picture contains words, such as a poster, repeat those words in the text on the page.

Video and audio: add captions

Captions turn speech into text on the screen. Many people watch with the sound off, so captions help deaf viewers and everyone else too. For longer talks, offer a written transcript as well.

In the reel editor of AI Marketing Master you can add captions that you type yourself, in English, Hindi and Punjabi fonts. It does not write them from the speech for you, so check the words and timing yourself.

Colour, size and links

• Keep a strong difference between text colour and background colour. Light grey on white is hard to read. Free contrast checkers online will test your main colour pairs once.
• Never use colour alone to carry meaning. Add a word, such as Failed or Approved, next to a red or green dot.
• Use text large enough to read on a phone without zooming.
• Write link text that says where the link goes. Use Read the pricing page, not click here.
• Make buttons and links big enough for a thumb, with space around them.

Structure: headings and forms

• Use real headings in order, one main heading and then smaller ones under it. Screen reader users often jump from heading to heading to find their way.
• Do not pick a heading level only because of how big it looks. Use the size settings for that.
• Give every form field a visible label. A hint inside the box that vanishes when you type is not enough.
• Make error messages say what to fix, such as Please add a phone number with digits only.

Try the keyboard test

Put the mouse aside and press the Tab key. Can you reach every link, button and form field? Can you see where you are on the page? Can you open the menu and close it again?

Then zoom the browser in until the text is much larger. Does anything overlap or disappear? Then view the page on a phone in bright light. A ten-minute test with your own hands teaches more than guessing.

Where the app helps, and where it does not

The website audit lists images without alt text and checks your headings. On WordPress, missing alt text can be fixed after you approve a preview, and the change can be undone. Read each description before approving, because it must be accurate for the picture.