Accessible communications learning and resources
Create accessible communications using these learning and resources.
For everyone
- Accessible communications: what is our duty (GCS members only).
Writing
- Writing for GOV.UK: how to write well for your audience, including specialists
- Hemingway App: free app to highlight complex sentences
- Writing about ethnicity: government style guide
- CIPR Inclusive Language guide
Making your document accessible
- Video training on how to make documents accessible, using Microsoft, with guidance for emails, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
- Make your content accessible to everyone with the Accessibility Checker (Microsoft)
- Why GOV.UK content should be published in HTML and not PDF
Check the colour and contrast
- Colour contrast checker to achieve an AA or AAA colour rating (the minimum ratio is 4.5:1)
- WebAIM contrast checker
Core GCS skills: on-demand training in GCS Advance
- Digital accessibility: best-practice essentials (17 minutes)
- Digital accessibility for government communicators, with GDS (44 minutes)
- Accessibility Culture eats WCAG compliance for breakfast GDS/BBC webinar (58 minutes)
Discover people’s perspective
- Accessibility and me: interviews with people with access needs
- Understanding disabilities and impairments: user profiles (Central Digital and Data Office)
- Experience the web as personas with access needs
- Explore the Impact and Benefits for Everyone (W3C)
- Assistive technology demonstrations (YouTube)
For content creators
- Understanding WCAG 2.1: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (known as WCAG 2.1)
- Planning, creating and publishing accessible social media campaigns
- Five principles to make your campaigns more inclusive
- DWP Accessibility Manual: accessibility guidance by job role from the Department for Work and Pensions
- SCULPT for accessibility Use the bite-size guidance about accessibility from Worcestershire County Council
- Inclusive design describes the methodologies to create products that understand and enable people of all backgrounds and abilities.
For website owners
- Planning, creating and publishing accessible website content
- Doing a basic accessibility check if you cannot do a detailed one
- How to set up a new government campaign online
- Sample accessibility statement
- Testing with assistive technologies