Accessibility Checklist: 7 Essentials for Every Adobe eLearning Designer

Accessibility is not a “nice-to-have” feature, but a fundamental pillar of user experience. For those of us working in the Adobe ecosystem, whether you’re building responsive modules in Adobe Captivate or designing assets in Illustrator, here’s a checklist of seven non-negotiable accessibility features.

1. Semantic title structure

Think of the title as the skeleton of your course. Screen reader users often “skim” a page by jumping from one heading to another to understand the hierarchy of information. If you just bold and enlarge the text to indicate a new section, screen readers won’t recognize it as a milestone.

In Adobe Captivate, make sure you use the designated title tags (H1, H2, H3). This creates a logical flow that allows learners to understand the relationships between topics without looking at the layout. This is in line with the International Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the gold standard for digital inclusion.

2. Meaningful alt text (beyond the basics)

We all know we need alt text for images, but “image of a man sitting at a desk” is rarely helpful to learners. The goal is to convey Purpose image. Is it a decorative flourish? If so, hide it from screen readers. Is this a chart showing quarterly growth? The alt text then needs to summarize that data.

Writing effective descriptions is an art form. If you’re struggling with how to describe complex visuals, you might find some good strategies on how to write descriptive alt text that really serves your users.

3. Keyboard-first navigation

If you’ve ever tried to navigate an eLearning course using just the “Tab” and “Enter” keys, you know how quickly things can go wrong. Many learners with motor disabilities are unable to use a mouse.

Your checklist must include “no mouse testing”. Make sure every interactive element (such as buttons, form fields, and drag-and-drop) is keyboard accessible and functional. In Adobe tools, pay close attention to the Tab Order panel to ensure that navigation flows logically from top to bottom and left to right.

4. Color contrast and dual coding

Color is a powerful tool for emphasis, but it shouldn’t be the only one. If you use a green border for “correct” answers and a red border for “incorrect,” some learners won’t actually see the difference.

Always “double code” your information. Use an icon (such as a check mark or X) next to the color. Additionally, use a contrast checker to ensure that the ratio of text to background is at least 4.5:1.

5. Synchronize subtitles and transcripts

Video content is a staple of modern e-learning, but it can be a huge obstacle for people who are hearing-impaired or in noisy environments. Adobe Premiere Pro and Captivate make adding closed captions relatively easy, but the key word is accuracy.

Automatically generated subtitles are a starting point, not the final product. Take the time to edit punctuation and speaker recognition. Providing downloadable transcripts is also a huge win as it allows learners to search for keywords or view content at their own pace.

6. Focus indicator

Have you ever noticed that when you tab through a website, a blue or orange box appears around the button? This is a focus indicator. This is a visual “you are here” sign for keyboard users.

Designers often find these “uglies” and try to hide them using custom CSS or project settings. Please, don’t do this. Without a clear focus indicator, keyboard users are essentially navigating in the dark. Don’t hide it, but design it to match your brand while remaining highly visible.

7. Avoid “click here” and “read more”

Descriptive link text is crucial for accessibility and SEO. When a screen reader pulls up a list of all the links on the page, seeing “click here” five times gives the user zero context.

instead of: “To view the full report, [click here]”. try: “[Download the 2024 Accessibility Compliance Report] Learn more. “

This small shift makes the experience more intuitive for everyone.

final thoughts

Designing for accessibility doesn’t stifle creativity, it forces us to be more intentional. When we build curriculum that works for people with disabilities, we end up building curriculum that works better for everyone.