Where to Start with Plain Language

Looking for basic information about what plain language is, and how to use it? We have a tutorial on where to start with Plain Language. 

1. Fonts: Type and Size

• Minimum size for body text should be 14 points or larger. Ask you audience for feedback.
• Use easy-to-read fonts. These are: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Calibri, or Times new Roman.
• No paragraphs of italic text. Italic text should be used to emphasize words or short sentences, but can be really difficult to read as a paragraph.

2. Color: Contrast and Meaning

• Use the WebAim color contrast checker. 3:1 should be the minimum for large text, icons, and graphics. For smaller text, like body text, bump it up to 4.75:1.
• Don’t use color to indicate meaning. “Push the purple button to get in touch” is meaningless if you can’t see purple.
• Test your designs in grayscale. Some people can't see color at all, and still need your information. If you're on a Mac, use the "Color Filters" accessibility tool to review, or upload your document to the Toptal color-blindness simulator.

3. Headings

• Headings are Title, H1, H2, H3. You use these instead of simply making the title of a page, section, or paragraph larger, or bolding it.
• They help screen readers and keyboard navigation in scanning a document.
• You can still bold or italicize your headings -- as long as they also have heading markup (Title, H1, H2, H3, etc).

4. Alt-Text

• All photos, icons, and figures should have alt-text.
• Alt-text should be 1-3 descriptive sentences. Focus on the main point of the image. You don't need to describe the color of the flowers on the wallpaper -- unless you're creating an ad for wallpaper. You do need to describe how many people are in the image, who they are, and what they're doing.
• If your image shows people, indicate skin, hair and eye color. Also consider basic dress and hairstyle.
• Haben Girma describes how important it is that alt-text includes BIPOC people (video).
• Don't be afraid to include color terms. Many blind and low-vision people appreciate being told about colors, such as "dark green forests" or "woodpecker with vibrant orange wings".

5. Column Width

• Try to use columns whenever practical. People’s eyes get tired reading a full-width page — especially on screens. This is why newspapers publish in columns.
• Do not justify your text to both sides of the page. Left-justify any text written in a language that reads left-to-right. Right-justify text in languages that read right-to-left.

6. Captions

• All videos need captions.
• Automated captions are only 70% accurate, on average. They are still better than nothing.
• Edited captions are kindness. And if you're posting a video on YouTube, they'll help your search-engine optimization (SEO).

7. Transcripts

• All podcast episodes need transcripts.
• Yes, even short ones.
• Automated transcripts are better than nothing. But edited transcripts are not only better accessibility, they too will help boost your search-engine optimization. Help people find and access your content!

8. Choice of File Formats

• Not everyone has Microsoft Word.
• Not everyone loves a .pdf. And .pdfs are frequently inaccessible unless you spend time ensuring full accessibility. 
• Webpages should be included as a choice. Lots of people have installed browsers, browser settings, and/or stylesheets that help them with reading and consuming webpages.
• Some people like video, some people cannot stand it. All video should have a text alternative.

9. Link Formats

• Underline links. Don’t underline any other text for emphasis.
• Link text should be a different color than body text. Try to avoid making other text a random color for emphasis.
• Don’t say “click here”. Instead, provide context. Like: 15 Golden Rules for Links.
• 3-4 words minimum link length. This helps people who have limited mobility in their fingers, hands, and wrists have a larger target to aim for.
• No surprise downloads. All links are assumed to go to webpages unless you say otherwise. Tell people about (.pdf), (.xlsx) and (.docx).

10. No flashing or blinking

• Flashing and blinking items, such as animations, can cause migraines or seizures for some viewers.
• Viewers should be able to stop and start animations. Nothing you include -- animations, videos, audio, ads -- should be set to auto-play.
• Absolutely nothing that moves faster than three blinks per second. This is the generally accepted threshold for causing seizures and migraines.

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• Fonts and Readability Powerpoint slides (.pptx)
• Dark Mode Fonts and Readability Powerpoint slides (.pptx)
• video transcript -- automated, with timestamps