Digital Accessibility Guidelines & Training

Digital accessibility refers to ensuring that our digital content can be accessed and understood by everyone, including those with disabilities. 

The following training resources will help City staff who create digital content - including websites, emails, PDFs, social media, and video - understand and follow these guidelines.

Accessibility is essential for persons with disabilities, but has benefits for everyone. Learn how accessibility provides benefits in a variety of situations.

Demo of a person who is blind using a screen reader to navigate a website

Digital Content Accessibility Training Series

This series from the Communications Department introduces employees to digital accessibility and how it applies to their work, including tips and tools for following accessibility guidelines. 

  • Four sessions cover different aspects of digital accessibility, and employees should review the sessions that are relevant to their work.
  • If you have any questions about the trainings or materials, please email Katy Dillard.

Who should watch?

City employees who create digital content including websites, emails, PDFs, social media, video, and multimedia.

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Session 1: Digital Accessibility (ADA) 101

Digital accessibility refers to making sure that our website and digital content (websites, emails, PDFs, social media, video, multimedia) can be accessed and understood by everyone, including people with disabilities. This training will provide an introduction to this topic for employees who work on City websites or create digital content, including quick tips to help make content more accessible. This session is recommended as a foundation for the additional trainings.

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Session 2: Digital Accessibility for Web Content

Learn best practices for creating web content that is user-friendly, and how to avoid and fix common accessibility issues. This session is recommended for employees who manage or edit content on City websites. Digital Accessibility 101 (Session 1) is recommended as a foundation for this training.

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Session 3: Digital Accessibility for PDFs & Documents

Learn best practices for creating PDFs and documents that meet digital accessibility (ADA) guidelines, and get an introduction to common tools to help you do this. This training is recommended for employees who create, scan, or distribute documents and PDFs, particularly documents that are posted online or viewed by the public. Digital Accessibility 101 (Session 1) is recommended as a foundation for this training.

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Session 4: Digital Accessibility for Social Media, Video & Multimedia

Did you know that digital accessibility (ADA) guidelines apply to social media, video, and multimedia content? Through tips and examples, learn how to make your content more accessible on social platforms and in multimedia content. Digital Accessibility 101 (Session 1) is recommended as a foundation for this training.

  1. Additional Resources
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Accessibility Guidelines

Training Resources

Overview

Microsoft Office Accessibility Center

Making Documents More Accessible

Plain Language

Siteimprove Academy

A variety of accessibility courses are available to City Web Managers (please contact Katy Dillard if interested):

  • Accessibility for Content Contributors
  • Accessibility Fundamentals for the Web
  • Accessibility Testing for the Web
  • Accessibility for Microsoft Office
  • Accessibility for Excel
  • Accessibility for Powerpoint
  • Accessibility for Word

LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda)

Get free access to LinkedIn Learning with Durham County library card; find a variety of courses including:

  • WordPress: Accessibility
  • Accessibility for Web Design
  • UX Foundations: Accessibility

Testing Tools