A big concern for any content designer is what we can do with accessibility. How can we make content, and the UX design more generally, more accessible.
But I think the very principles of content design itself make it inclusive, accessible and serves users.
User needs
For anyone in UX, the user needs are our guiding star. We need to understand these to make sure our service does exactly as it should in an easy, helpful way.
These need to be the needs of all different types of users, not just one specific profile. So part of this is considering the needs of those with accessibility requirements.
Do what you need
Your content needs to serve a purpose. When writing UX content, your aim should be to remove the superfluous. The frilly and expositional can be fun to write, but if it doesn’t help the user do what they need to do then your user will be frustrated, stressed and even angry.
If your writing is to the point and helpful then you have a much happier path for the user to follow. And this also applies when thinking about accessibility. The ultimate goal of any user, whether they have accessibility needs or not, is to do the thing. So if your content can do this clearly and in a straightforward way, then you have succeeded.
Writing clearly
Any content designer will tell you the importance of plain English. To simplify the complex is to make it accessible to all. If your writing can be understood by a broader audience, then less people are excluded. It also means a much wider group of people can make informed decisions and understand what they need to do.
Avoid duplication
This principle might seem less obvious. Sure, you don’t want to read the same bit of content twice. But is it accessible? Content for services and products doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s part of a wider ecosystem connecting things online together. Crucially, your content is usually searchable. On a massive platform like GOV.UK, that means any duplication of content is going to make searching and finding the right answer increasingly difficult.
Alt text on images
Content isn’t just confined to the words. You may need to include images in your services or guidance. If you do, the best thing you can do is also include alt text. Alt text is a clear description of the image and its context. This sits in the code, so when someone using a screenreader reads through the page, it will explain there’s an image and what the image is.
Simpler, clearer, faster
Ultimately content designers are trying to make things simpler, clearer and faster. You want your users to be able to use your service, understand it and do what they need to do without anything blocking them.
These basic principles can help get you there, but they can also make sure a wider audience can do this too. By allowing your service to include as many people as possible, and to be usable by as many people as possible, then you’re stepping in the right direction of accessibility.
What next?
Whether you’re a content designer, interaction designer, user researcher or any other UX practitioner, you have a level of responsibility to make your services accessible. But you’re also equipped with the tools to do so. Some of these feel obvious, and if you build them into your design processes they can be applied straight away. But it’s important to keep up-to-date with designing for accessibility.
When working across UK government projects, there is a wealth of information including:
- accessibility in government blog
- the accessibility pages of the GOV.UK Design System
- accessibility and assisted digital in the GOV.UK Service Manual
But most importantly, it’s about sharing knowledge and ideas throughout the design community. If a Mercator user researcher gets some interesting accessibility findings they’ll share it with the wider team. And as we check and critique each other’s work we keep accessibility in mind, to make sure we’re all designing to the highest standards.
