Screen readers
Screen readers are a type of technology that helps people who have difficulty seeing to access and interact with digital content, via audio or touch. The main users of screen readers are people who have a visual impairment (are blind or have very limited vision).
Most devices come with screen readers build in, such as Narrator for Windows devices, VoiceOver for Apple devices and TalkBack on Android devices.
More information: An introduction to screen readers
How screen readers work
They work by literally reading the screen, describing what is on the page and what each part is. They can do this using words or via touch, such as with Braille.
For example, a screen reader would read out "Home Page - link", "Smiling person - image", or "Search box" as it finds different components on a page. The user then interacts using either a keyboard or other accessible input device.
More information: How do Screen Readers work?
It's not just the internet!
Screen readers are used across all digital content, such as:
- Word documents
- Emails
- Images (with alt text)
- Accessing apps on mobile phones and tablets
What you can do
It is important that any digital content you produce and share is designed to be accessible. This includes avoiding using PDFs where possible, as they are often hard for screen readers to access.
Top tips to make digital content easier for screen readers to use
Language
Plain English should be used as much as possible. Aim for a reading age of 9. Hemingway Editor can help with this.
Headings
Using proper heading structure helps screen readers know which parts of the document the user is in. HTML heading tag structure and website accessibility gives guidance.
Images
These can make content look attractive, but placing text on an image, not having alt text (text which describes the image that screen readers will read out) and relying too much on an image to explain something can cause barriers for those using a screen reader. How to write alt-text descriptions for image accessibility gives good advice.
PDFs
These are generally hard for screen readers to access, so should be avoided. A better solution is to create a web page version of the content as this will be accessible. Why we prioritise webpages rather than documents explains the issues. If you must use a PDF, then it should be made accessible. Creating Accessible Documents gives good advice on this.
Link text and QR codes
Any link to a webpage must explain where it is going. Don’t put “click here” or put the website address (as this is very complex for a screen reader to read). Creating accessible hyperlinks gives advice. The screen reader will let the user know it is a link.
More information
7 easy ways to make your content more accessible gives more guidance.
