We’ve received a lot of great questions as our teams prepare for digital accessibility compliance. Below are some of the most common issues folks run into — and a few tips to make your transition smoother.
Remember, if you’re ever unsure about what to do, our Digital Accessibility Handbook is available with recommendations. If you find you need step by step guides on how to take action on recommendations, we’ve got your covered with our extensive searchable inventory of Help Articles.
Common questions from Extension professionals:
- My local school asks me for flyers to send home or post around the building. Can I still email them flyers?
- Do parent or volunteer managed social media accounts have to follow accessibility guidelines?
- I use a UGA listserv to send newsletters. Do I have to switch to MailChimp?
- I get one-on-one requests for resources from people in my county. Do I have to remediate those resources if I’m emailing them directly?
- Another agency or program office sends me PDFs to share. Do I have to make them accessible before posting?
- How does a blog serve to improve accessibility?
- My work involves collaboration on complex research projects. Can I no longer use PDFs as a means of distributing my work?
My local school asks me for flyers to send home or post around the building. Can I still email them flyers?
Yes — flyers that are designed to be printed and distributed are still fine to share as requested. For example, if a school asks for a flyer, you can create and save it as an accessible PDF and send it for printing.
What we want to avoid is using flyers as your only communication method — for example, sending an email that only says: “We’re having our annual Harvest Festival — see the attached flyer for details!”
Instead, include the key event details directly in your message, and attach the flyer as a printable option.
Main Point: Flyers are fine for print, but don’t rely on them as your main way to share information.
Do parent or volunteer managed social media accounts have to follow accessibility guidelines?
Yes. If parents or volunteers manage social media accounts on behalf of ANR, 4-H, or FACS programs, they must follow the same accessibility guidelines.
Our Digital Accessibility Handbook includes best practices for social media accessibility and is available to anyone managing a UGA-affiliated account.
Main Point: If the social media account is representing UGA Extension, you will want to make sure those posts reflect our commitment to digital accessibility.
I use a UGA listserv to send newsletters. Do I have to switch to MailChimp?
Not necessarily. You can continue using your listserv if it meets your needs — but make sure your content is accessible:
- Add alt text for any images.
- Use descriptive links instead of “click here.”
- Include text summaries for attached documents.
Avoid forwarding inaccessible attachments (like a newsletter saved as a PDF).
MailChimp can be a great alternative because it lets you post to a blog and automatically send those updates to your audience.
Main Point: Whatever tool you use, make sure your emails and attachments are accessible. See the Digital Accessibility Handbook for guidance on using Outlook’s accessibility checker.
I get one-on-one requests for resources from people in my county. Do I have to remediate those resources if I’m emailing them directly?
No, not if it’s a one-to-one request for personal use. For example, if a farmer asks for an old report for their own reference, you don’t have to remediate it.
However, if they plan to share or distribute the document — such as posting it online— it will need to be remediated (reviewed and reformatted to meet accessibility standards). We have a course that walks through remediation steps for creating accessible PDF documents.
Main Point: In one-to-one communication you know the needs of the audience and are fulfilling a request. When you broadcast items digitally to a larger audience you need to make items accessible to accommodate a large scope of needs.
Another agency or program office sends me PDFs to share. Do I have to make them accessible before posting?
If the file comes from another government agency, they should also be working toward accessibility. Let your contact at that agency know that accessibility compliant documents are required.
For simple items like event flyers or one-page notices, make sure they’re accessible before you share them.
For complex documents (like research reports or lengthy studies), consider the approach used for county impact reports:
Provide a text summary on your website and clearly label the accessible PDF as a downloadable resource.
Main Point: Review When Should You Use PDFs on Your Website? for detailed guidance. For long or complex reports, include a text summary and label PDFs clearly as downloadable files.
How does a blog serve to improve accessibility?
When the CAES Web Team sets up a blog for you, we build it with a template that is formatted with accessibility in mind. A blog site also has a broad range of applications for communicating to your audience.
Examples:
- Instead of attaching a document to an email for monthly updates, you could create a post with all relevant news and updates for the coming month and provide a link to updates via email or social media posts.
- You can highlight research and field work, incorporating accessible videos and links to complex reports.
- You can create a registration section of your blog, where information for event signups is housed as a one stop shop for volunteer or student engagement.
If you’re interested in starting a blog, complete the required trainings on Web Accessibility and WordPress 101 to get a feel for what is required. You can then submit a project request to the CAES Web Team to assist you with getting a blog started. Note: Due to the volume of requests related to the accessibility deadline, we will prioritize building blog sites based on the order they are received.
Main Point: A blog provides a convenient and flexible platform for sharing updates, resources, and event information without relying on documents or attachments. It’s built with accessibility in mind and gives your audience a central, easy-to-access source for content.
My work involves collaboration on complex research projects. Can I no longer use PDFs as a means of distributing my work?
There are cases where a PDF file will be the best way to consolidate complex information, such as research reports or trial data. If you plan to distribute these types of documents digitally on your website or other digital avenues, they need to be properly formatted for accessibility. We have created a self-paced PDF accessibility course to guide you through this process.
If you are unsure of the best use case for a PDF document, review our help article: When should you use a PDF on your website.
Main Point: There are some perfectly legitimate use cases for creating a PDF document when consolidating complex research findings. If you plan to distribute the findings digitally, ensure that the final product meets accessibility guidelines for PDFs.
If you’re unsure how to best approach digital accessibility, contact the web team for help.
