How to avoid this problem:

Do not use pictures with text in them as the only way you are conveying information (i.e. a picture of a flyer with dates, times and info). Screen reading and other assistive technologies generally will not allow their users access to text embedded in a photo. All the text that conveys information must also be input as “alt-text”, posted as text on the page, or there must be a link (posted pictures allow a link to be added) to an electronically created file (not a scanned-in document). PDF documents, Word files, and Google Docs can be accessed by assistive technology and are generally acceptable to be linked on the website.

When someone creates a flyer in commonly used software (i.e. Canva or Adobe) it can be downloaded as a picture and a PDF (if given the option choose ‘for electronic distribution’). The PDF can then be added to the website’s documents and linked to the picture; this will generally solve accessibility issues.

In the case that the information you wish to convey only exists in a picture format, there are ways to extract text from a photo file (jpeg, png, etc.,).

BUFFALO

Three Common Mistakes Regarding Website Accessibility and How to Avoid them

Mistake #1 Textual Information embedded in picture

Mistake #2 Using Incorrect Content Type

Mistake #3 Generically named Links