Sans serif fonts are the most accessible. Arial, Calibri, Century Gothic, Helvetica, Tahoma, and Verdana are all good choices.
Font size should be at least 12-point. The font used in this guide is Verdana, 14-point.
Color should not be used to denote meaning. Colorblind users and those using screen readers may miss the implied meaning.
Avoid using underlining to emphasize text. Underlining implies the presence of a link.
Write clearly and concisely.
Another important facet of accessibility is contrast. It is easier for everyone to read text on a contrasting background.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG, state that the contrast between text color and background color should be 4.5:1. An easy way to check contrast is to use the Web Accessibility In Mind (WebAIM) contrast checker.
For example,
this black text with a dark green background is difficult to read and fails the contrast checker, and
this black text with a light green background is much easier to read and passes.
Screen readers will read each letter of a URL, so it is important to include context when inserting a link in a document. It is better to use clear language in a link than to use vague phrases like "click here." For example, if you are linking to the college website, you can link the text as follows:
Please visit the college website for more information.
Use consistent formatting for links, such as blue, underlined text. Links should open in a new page or tab only when necessary. As WebAIM states, "Links should look like links, and nothing else should."
Sources: WebAIM Links and Hypertext and W3C Opening new windows and tabs from a link only when necessary
To be accessible to screen readers, file names should not contain spaces and/or special characters.
File naming conventions are important for web pages and directories, as well as for downloadable files such as PDFs, Word documents, and Excel spreadsheets.
Here are some tips to remember when naming your files:
Don’t start or end your filename with a space, period, hyphen, or underline.
Keep your filenames to a reasonable length and be sure they are under 31 characters.
Always use lowercase.
Don’t use spaces and underscores; use a hyphen instead.
Source: Accessible Website Services