Cameron Students posing for a picture on Campus

Web Management

Social Media Accessibility

The following information will assist you in ensuring your social media posts meet accessibility rules under WCAG 2.1, Level AA and that your content is inclusive and accessible to all users.

Who Has to Follow WCAG Rules?

  • Public universities, community colleges, and public schools
    • This includes all CU departments and offices, all CU faculty and staff, and all CU Campus Organizations using official CU Social Media pages, the CU website, and CU email accounts
    • This also includes third-party content posted by CU, content posted by a contractor or vendor on behalf of CU, and tools and/or platforms that allow third parties to post content on CU official platforms (website, social media pages, and email)
  • State and local government offices, police departments, courts, election offices, transit agencies
  • Public hospitals and healthcare clinics
  • Public parks and recreation programs, public libraries

Requirements and Best Practices:

  • Avoid the use of emojis.  They contain embedded alternative text (alt text) that requires a screen reader to read all of the alt text, which can overwhelm the user.
  • Use Camel Case for hashtags.  Camel Case is where multiple words are joined together without spaces and each word's first letter is capitalized except for the first word.  Here are examples: goAggies, backTheAxe, thisIsCamelCase.
  • Do not put links, URLs, or website addresses in Instagram captions or on social media graphics.   Links, URLs, and website addresses should go in the text portion (Caption) of a Facebook post, but you must provide descriptive text instead of "Click here."  An example of descriptive link text is "Read our accessibility guide: [Link}." As an alternative, you can post links in the first comment of your post.
  • Always add alt text to images and graphics explaining key visual details.  Avoid text-heavy images - all text contained in the graphic must be added to the alt text, but alt text is designed to be a sentence or two of descriptive information. The alt text should be short and sweet: not too descriptive - just important details to get the context, meaning, and function across. Never use the alt text field for anything other than alt text and accessibility.
  • Use the content (text) area of your social media post to provide all relevant information about your post instead of putting the text in your graphic. 
  • Use high contrast in graphics.  Ensure that text meets the Color Contrast minimum of 4.5:1.  NOTE: Yellow or gold text on a white background or white text on a yellow or gold background DOES NOT meet this minimum. For text that is considered "large" (defined as 14-point bold or 18-point regular), the minimum contrast ratio is 3:1. This is because larger text is generally easier to read. Keep in mind that certain color combinations (such as red and green) may be problematic for users who are color-blind.
  • Design simple graphics with minimal copy.  Avoid centered, justified, or right-aligned text as it is problematic for screen readers and users with cognitive disabilities.  Script text should also be avoided as most screen readers can not properly decipher the text.
  • QR codes should not be used on Social Media graphics.  If you use a QR code, the URL/website link must be in the caption and in the alt text, which creates duplication for screen readers. Those who use their cell phones to access social media can't scan the QR code, so inserting the URL/website link in the text or caption is a better option.
  • Provide closed captions for all video content and include transcripts for audio-only content.  Auto-generated captions must be reviewed for accuracy.

Facebook

Use these steps to add alternative text (alt text) to all images and graphics:

  1. Open Facebook via the app on your mobile device or from the Facebook website on your computer.
  2. Create a new post by clicking "What's on your mind?" or the + symbol at the top-right of the page (on mobile device) or by clicking on the Photo or Video icons at the top of your news feed (on computer).
  3. Select your photo or graphic.  Choose the photo you want to upload from your device.
  4. Edit the alt text:
    1. On mobile: tap on the photo to view it fully, then tap the three dots (ellipsis) in the top-right corner and select Edit Alt Text.  Enter your desired text in the text box and tap Done.
    2. On computer: hover over the photo and click Edit in the top-left corner.  In the left-hand menu, click on Alternative Text.  Select Custom Alt Text and enter your description in the text box. Click Save when you're done.

Use these steps to add closed captions to your Facebook videos:

  1. Open Facebook via the app on your mobile device or from the Facebook website on your computer.
  2. Click on “What's on your mind?” at the top of your feed.
  3. Select and upload a video from your computer.
  4. Once your video is successfully uploaded, click “Video Options” on the video’s thumbnail.
  5. Click “Add Captions” on the left, then select either auto-generate captions or upload a SubRip (.srt) file.
  6. Click “Save,” and then post!

Note: SubRip is a type of software that extracts subtitles and their timings from different video formats to turn them into text files. This text file will need to be created before you post your video on Facebook.