Your ePortfolio should be accessible to diverse audiences. This can mean usable with assistive devices (like screen readers) or viewable on a variety of devices including phones and tablets. You should also consider how accessible it is to individuals from backgrounds different from your own, such as different education levels, background knowledge, or cultures. Check out these resources on how to make your work accessible.

Accessibility

  • Check what your site looks like on mobile (this can be done on your personal device or Google’s preview features). Google Sites does a good job of adjusting to mobile, but sometimes it can flow differently.
  • Links should have a descriptive name that could stand alone to describe the linked resource to the reader (e.g., instead of “click here” say “View my team’s website”). Learn more about hyperlinking text.
  • Images should have “alt text,” or descriptions that tell someone who cannot see your image what they’re missing (at text should fit your purpose for including the image). When writing alt text, include a description of the image, any words presented in the image, and tell the viewer why the image matters. Images that don’t matter are marked as “decorative.”  Learn how to add photos and alt text to those photos.
  • Keep videos short and make sure the content is also included on the page if your site visitors can’t or don’t want to watch. You must add and review closed captioning for all videos that you created. The auto-captions are usually close, but need an additional review and edit for scientific terms or any other difficult words.
  • Text and other elements have a high contrast with the background (add textboxes or change text color to enhance contrast). Check the contrast of your website and make sure it is accessible.

Helpful links for accessibility: Media or video player accessibility, accessibility for content creators (you!), perform an accessibility review on your website. Also review further links including those about accessible social media.

Readability

  • Text has a minimum size of 18 point with larger text being sized at least 24 point. Sans Serif fonts are easier to read on a screen.
  • Text and other elements have a high contrast with the background (add textboxes or change text color to enhance contrast).
  • There is a balance between text and image or other design features to avoid a wall of text.