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Making Your MV Content Accessible & Inclusive.

8 tips on making your course or online offer accessible

Erin Kelly avatar
Written by Erin Kelly
Updated over a week ago

*This is a guest Knowledge Base article written by one of our lovely users, Chantelle Venter! She'll be walking you through everything you need to know, on how you can make your MV more accessible and inclusive.
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Accessibility is an important consideration when creating online courses or other digital offerings. By making your content accessible to as many people as possible, you can ensure that your audience is as inclusive as possible and that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate and engage with your material.

Inclusivity is an important aspect for any business or organization, and MemberVault is no exception. The company places a high value on creating an environment that is welcoming and accessible to all, regardless of abilities or disabilities.
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By making accessibility a priority, MemberVault is showing their dedication to creating a more equitable and inclusive online space.
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As accessibility experts we have tested MemberVault with screen readers, widgets and keyboard navigation and the platform meets and exceeds the minimum requirements.
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Now the only thing you need to do is ensure that your content is also accessible by following best practices for digital accessibility.
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By taking these steps outlined below, you can ensure that your online courses or other digital offerings are accessible to everyone, and that you are contributing to the creation of a more inclusive and equitable online space.

Here are eight key points from Chantelle to keep in mind when creating accessible online courses:

  1. Make sure your content is readable and understandable.
    This includes using clear and simple language, providing explanations for technical terms and jargon, and ensuring that your content is structured in a logical and easy-to-follow manner.
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    ​Image: Proper course structure.

    Diagram of a proper course structure: Module 1 flows to Lesson 1 - Module overview which consist of the introduction and objectives. Lesson 2 Lectures consist of Videos, slides and presentations, and text and content. Lesson 3 – Assignments consist of online discussions, and homework and tasks. Lesson 4 is module quiz. Lesson 5 – Additional resources flowing to readings and other materials.


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  2. Provide alternative ways to access your content.
    This includes providing closed captions for videos, audio descriptions for images, and text transcripts for audio recordings. By providing multiple ways to access your content, you can ensure that people with different abilities and preferences can still engage with your material. Transcripts are an essential component of accessibility, as they allow users to read along with the audio or video content, or to read it at their own pace. You can use tools like Otter.ai, Descript, or even Microsoft Word Online (good for audio transcription).
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  3. Make sure your content is usable with a keyboard.
    Many users with mobility impairments use keyboard-only navigation to access the web. By making sure your content is usable with a keyboard, you can ensure that these users can still access and interact with your content.

    Once you have added all your content you should use the arrows, tab, shift + tab, enter, and space bar keys to see how you navigate your content. If you use TAB and it reaches a button, does the button explain what it does even with no context of the content above it?


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  4. Use proper formatting and headings.
    Proper formatting, such as using headings with the correct size and font weight, and using lists with clear bullet points, can make your content easier to scan and understand. It also helps users with screen readers to navigate through the content.
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    a. Image: Proper HTML

    Image of HTML code that contains elements and attributes that are designed to be inclusive and make the content usable by as many people as possible, including those with disabilities. This code uses proper semantic HTML tags, such as headings, paragraphs, and lists, to structure the content. It also uses alternative text to describe images, which is important for those who are visually impaired and use screen readers to access the content.


    b. Image: Bad HTML
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    Image of Non-accessible HTML code that does not follow these best practices for accessibility. It uses a table to structure the content, which can be difficult for those who are visually impaired to understand and navigate. It also does not include alternative text for images, making it difficult for screen reader understands the content. Additionally, the code lacks proper headings and semantic HTML tags, which can make the content confusing and difficult to understand for all users, not just those with disabilities.

  5. Test your content with different assistive technologies.
    ​    It is important to test your content with different assistive technologies, such as screen readers, to ensure that it is accessible to a wide range of users. To test your content, you can use tools like NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) or VoiceOver (MacOS) which are free and widely used. You could also install our accessibility widget (mentioned below) that provides screen reading capabilities.
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  6. Add Alt Text to Images.
    Alt text is the text that appears in place of an image when the image cannot be loaded. Alt text is important for accessibility because it provides a description of the image, which can be read by screen readers.
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    Image: Alt text for images

    Screenshot of MemberVault Insert/Edit Image. Content competed is source code, alternative text, image title, width and height, and class.

  7. Use ARIA attributes.
    ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) is a set of attributes that can be added to HTML elements to provide additional information to assistive technologies.
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    a. Image: Good ARIA

    Image of code that shows an example of good ARIA. T the role attribute is used to define the purpose of different elements on the page. The tablist role is assigned to the main container, indicating that it contains a set of tabs. The individual tabs are defined as tabpanel with a corresponding aria-labelledby attribute that links the tab to its label. This makes it possible for assistive technology, such as screen readers, to understand the structure of the content and to announce the available modules and lessons in a clear and meaningful way.


    b: Image Bad ARIA

    Image example of Bad ARIA, the role attribute is used to indicate that the div is the main content area, but it does not provide any additional information or structure to help assistive technologies understand the purpose and structure of the content. Additionally, the links to the lessons do not have clear, descriptive text to indicate what the lessons are about. This makes it difficult for users of assistive technologies, such as screen readers, to understand and navigate the content of the online course.


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  8. Last, but not the least, consider hiring an accessibility auditor.

    Website Fae offers accessibility audits and can help you make your course / online offer accessible. Our accessibility audits provide you with proper step by step instructions and guideline on how to make your course more accessible. We do also offer our clients the option of having us do the remediation on their behalf.

By keeping these key points in mind, you can ensure that your online courses or digital offerings are as accessible as possible.
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Remember, accessibility is not an optional feature, but a fundamental right and a legal requirement. By making your content accessible, you can provide equal opportunities for everyone to engage with your material, regardless of their abilities or preferences.
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Talking about legal, please note that new laws are being approved daily and even if your country does not fall under any of these mentioned below, it could change at any time. It is also important to keep in mind that you might be based in a country where there is no accessibility law, but if you do business with someone from a country that does have a law on accessibility you are bound by that law.
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Here is a list of accessibility laws as of 14 July 2023:

  1. United States – Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) - https://www.ada.gov/

  2. Canada – Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) - https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/120332

  3. Australia – Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) - https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2018C00109

  4. United Kingdom – Equality Act 2010 - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents

  5. European Union – Web Accessibility Directive - https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/digital-single-market/digital-inclusion-and-accessibility/web-accessibility-directive_en

  6. South Africa – South African Constitution - https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution-republic-south-africa-1996

  7. Japan – Barrier-Free Environment Law - https://www.e-stat.go.jp/en/stat-search/database?page=1&toukei=00033&tstat=000001011700&cycle=0&tclass1=000001011700&tclass2=000001011701&statisticsCode=000001011700&result_back=1

  8. Brazil – Brazilian Statute of Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities - https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2007-2010/2007/lei/l10.048.htm

  9. India – Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 - https://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/rights-persons-disabilities-bill-2014-3906/

If at any point you would like to be more inclusive, feel free to reach out to websitefae.com for a full accessibility audit. They will provide you with a comprehensive audit report with steps on making your course/online offer even better. They are also able to help you edit your course/online offer.
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As an additional side note we would like to WARN ALL OUR READERS, that there is no quick fix for accessibility. Adding a widget or overlay to your site will NOT make your content accessible and could actually make your content even more inaccessible. Please do not rely on any widget or overlay. If in doubt, please reach out to Website Fae and we will demonstrate how it is inaccessible.

Learn more about our Guest Chantelle

Chantelle Venter is an Accessibility Specialist at Website Fae. She helps coaches and course creators in making their courses and online offers more accessible to people with disabilities.

You can reach out to Chantelle via the following links:

Website: www.websitefae.com

MemberVault: www.websitefae.com/member

Facebook: www.facebook.com/websitefae

Photo of Chantelle Venter, owner of Website Fae and your accessibility specialist.


Questions? Reach out to us at hello@membervault.co, within our Facebook group, The MV Collaborative, or via chat support within your admin account (not sure how to log in? look up your account here).

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