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Accessibility on social media

Accessibility is just as important on social media as it is on our websites. We want to make sure everyone can access our posts to make sure we’re reaching as many people as possible. Make sure to follow these guidelines when creating social media posts and content.

Writing accessible content for a post

Write clearly and use plain English

Use plain English like you would with any other content for our services. Avoid jargon and use clear, simple language.  

If you’re creating a longer post on platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn, you should use line breaks to break up your text.  

Find out more about writing in plain English in our content guidelines

Using emojis 

You can use emojis, but be aware that screen readers will describe them out loud. For example: 😃 would become “smiley face emoji”. This means if you use an emoji in the middle of a sentence, it might make it more difficult for someone using a screen reader to follow the sentence.  

Emojis should only be used in addition to written text – never replace a word in a sentence with an emoji.

Avoid writing in all caps  

Some people rely on the ‘shape’ of a word to read more efficiently. Using all caps means words lose this shape, and in some cases may cause a screen reader to read the word letter by letter.  

Links

Always introduce a link so that users know where it’s going. This might be something like ‘Read our guide to selling online: [link]’

If you need to use a shortened link, customise it where possible to include more information about where it’s going.

Creating accessible images

Colour and contrast

If you’re creating graphics, diagrams or other assets, make sure you use high contrasting colours. This means people with low vision, colour-blindness or dyslexia can see them more easily.

Make sure you don’t use colour alone to convey meaning. For example, if you’re using red and green to show do and don’t actions, make sure you also include words like ‘do’ and ‘don’t’ or visual clues like a tick and cross.

Find out more in our accessibility guidelines for colour and contrast  

Alt text  

Give any images or gifs you use alt text (alternative text) so users with screen readers know what the image is and get the same level of information as users who can see the image.  

Here's how to do this on: 

Not all platforms let you add alt text to a gif. If you can’t add proper alt text, just describe it within your post in [square brackets]. 

Find out more about writing alt text  

Font and text size

Make sure any text on your images is in an accessible font. Avoid anything too complex (like a cursive serif font) or anything in italics.

You should also make sure font is large enough to be read clearly. If your copy won’t fit into the image when using a large font, consider whether the copy length can be reduced. This has benefits beyond just accessibility, as it will get your message across quickly to all users.