ADA Compliance: Files

There are times when we need to add files to our website, be it a PDF or document, or a simple video embed. These must be ADA compliant in the same way as the web page itself.

PDFs and other document files

As these become part of your website when you add them there, you must ensure that these are as accessible as the rest of your website. For example images must have alt tags, the page structure is correct and contrast ratios are within the guidelines. How you do this will depend on your document type. Common document tools often have guides on how to create to create accessible documents; here are examples for Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word.

If you are embedding documents on you page to make them visible then they should be reachable. For example, if a person is navigating the page only be using the keyboard can they reach the embedded content?

Video and audio files

If you add a video or audio clip to a webpage – is there a transcript available? A hearing impaired cannot hear any talking so subtitles are required – if you embed your video from a source like YouTube then they can automatically create these. If your video contains a lot of visual information that is important that also needs to be conveyed to prevent users with disabilities from getting a lesser experience.