CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="no-js" lang="en" dir="ltr" prefix="og: http://ogp.me/ns#"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, viewport-fit=cover"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"> <script> document.documentElement.className = document.documentElement.className.replace('no-js', 'has-js'); function downloadJSAtOnload() { var element = document.createElement("script"); element.src = "/WAI/assets/scripts/main.js?1732542395990846989"; document.body.appendChild(element); } window.addEventListener("load", downloadJSAtOnload, false); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/WAI/assets/css/style.css?1732542395990846989"> <title> Understandable Content | Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) | W3C</title> <meta name="generator" content="Jekyll v4.3.3" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Understandable Content" /> <meta name="author" content="W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)" /> <meta property="og:locale" content="en" /> <meta name="description" content="Short video about understandable content for web accessibility - what is it, who depends on it, and what needs to happen to make it work." /> <meta property="og:description" content="Short video about understandable content for web accessibility - what is it, who depends on it, and what needs to happen to make it work." /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/perspective-videos/understandable/" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.w3.org/WAI/perspective-videos/understandable/" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)" /> <meta property="og:image" content="https://www.w3.org/WAI/content-images/perspective-videos/understandable.jpg" /> <meta property="og:type" content="article" /> <meta property="article:published_time" content="2024-11-25T13:46:35+00:00" /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /> <meta property="twitter:image" content="https://www.w3.org/WAI/content-images/perspective-videos/understandable.jpg" /> <meta property="twitter:title" content="Understandable Content" /> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@w3c_wai" /> <meta name="twitter:creator" content="@W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)" /> <script type="application/ld+json"> {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BlogPosting","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)"},"dateModified":"2024-11-25T13:46:35+00:00","datePublished":"2024-11-25T13:46:35+00:00","description":"Short video about understandable content for web accessibility - what is it, who depends on it, and what needs to happen to make it work.","headline":"Understandable Content","image":"https://www.w3.org/WAI/content-images/perspective-videos/understandable.jpg","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.w3.org/WAI/perspective-videos/understandable/"},"url":"https://www.w3.org/WAI/perspective-videos/understandable/"}</script>  <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" href="/WAI/feed.xml"> </head> <body id="top" class="page-understandable-content resource-perspective-videos"> <nav aria-label="Skip Link and Language Selector" id="controls" class="default-grid"> <ul> <li><a href="#main">Skip to Content</a></li> <li class="opt"><a href="/WAI/meta/customize/">Change Text Size or Colors</a></li> <li class="opt languagelist"> <strong>This page in:</strong> <ul class="languagelistul"><li><strong style="text-transform: capitalize;">English</strong></li><li><a style="text-transform: capitalize;" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/understandable/fr" lang="fr" dir="auto" translate="no">français</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="opt"> <a href="/WAI/translations/">All Translations <svg focusable="false" aria-hidden="true" class="icon-translations "><use xlink:href="/WAI/assets/images/icons.svg#icon-translations"></use></svg></a> </li> <li><button id="showoptions" data-showhidebuttonid="header-showoptions" class="showhidebutton button-inline" data-target="#controls .opt" aria-expanded="false" data-large-aria-expanded="true" data-showtext='<svg focusable="false" aria-hidden="true" class="icon-languages "><use xlink:href="/WAI/assets/images/icons.svg#icon-languages"></use></svg> Show Customization, Languages, Translations' data-hidetext='Hide Options'><svg focusable="false" aria-hidden="true" class="icon-languages "><use xlink:href="/WAI/assets/images/icons.svg#icon-languages"></use></svg> Show Customization, Languages, Translations</button></li> </ul> </nav> <header id="site-header" class="default-grid with-gap"> <div class="logos"> <a lang="en" class="home w3c" href="https://www.w3.org/"> <svg role="img" aria-label="W3C" viewBox="0 0 68 34" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="m16.117 1.006 5.759 19.58 5.759-19.58h4.17 11.444v1.946l-5.879 10.128c2.065.663 3.627 1.868 4.686 3.615 1.059 1.748 1.589 3.799 1.589 6.155 0 2.914-.775 5.363-2.324 7.348s-3.555 2.978-6.017 2.978c-1.854 0-3.469-.589-4.845-1.767-1.377-1.178-2.396-2.773-3.058-4.786l3.256-1.35c.477 1.218 1.106 2.178 1.887 2.879.781.702 1.701 1.052 2.76 1.052 1.112 0 2.052-.622 2.82-1.866.768-1.245 1.152-2.74 1.152-4.489 0-1.933-.411-3.429-1.231-4.488-.954-1.244-2.45-1.867-4.489-1.867h-1.588v-1.906l5.56-9.612h-6.712l-.382.65-8.163 27.548h-.397l-5.958-19.937-5.957 19.937h-.397l-9.53-32.168h4.17l5.759 19.58 3.892-13.185-1.906-6.395z"/><path d="m64.92 1.006c-.819 0-1.554.295-2.111.861-.591.6-.92 1.376-.92 2.178s.313 1.545.887 2.128c.583.591 1.334.912 2.145.912.793 0 1.562-.321 2.161-.903.574-.557.887-1.3.887-2.136 0-.811-.321-1.57-.878-2.136-.584-.592-1.344-.904-2.171-.904zm2.643 3.065c0 .701-.271 1.351-.768 1.832-.524.507-1.174.777-1.892.777-.675 0-1.342-.278-1.84-.785s-.777-1.157-.777-1.849.287-1.368.802-1.891c.481-.49 1.131-.751 1.84-.751.726 0 1.376.271 1.883.785.49.489.752 1.147.752 1.882zm-2.559-1.807h-1.3v3.445h.65v-1.469h.642l.701 1.469h.726l-.769-1.57c.498-.102.785-.439.785-.929 0-.625-.472-.946-1.435-.946zm-.118.422c.608 0 .886.169.886.591 0 .405-.278.549-.87.549h-.549v-1.14z"/><path d="m59.807.825.676 4.107-2.391 4.575s-.918-1.941-2.443-3.015c-1.285-.905-2.122-1.102-3.431-.832-1.681.347-3.587 2.357-4.419 4.835-.995 2.965-1.005 4.4-1.04 5.718-.056 2.113.277 3.362.277 3.362s-1.452-2.686-1.438-6.62c.009-2.808.451-5.354 1.75-7.867 1.143-2.209 2.842-3.535 4.35-3.691 1.559-.161 2.791.59 3.743 1.403 1 .854 2.01 2.721 2.01 2.721z"/><path d="m60.102 24.063s-1.057 1.889-1.715 2.617c-.659.728-1.837 2.01-3.292 2.651s-2.218.762-3.656.624c-1.437-.138-2.772-.97-3.24-1.317s-1.664-1.369-2.34-2.322-1.733-2.859-1.733-2.859.589 1.91.958 2.721c.212.467.864 1.894 1.789 3.136.863 1.159 2.539 3.154 5.086 3.604 2.547.451 4.297-.693 4.73-.97s1.346-1.042 1.924-1.66c.603-.645 1.174-1.468 1.49-1.962.231-.36.607-1.092.607-1.092z"/></g></svg> </a> <a lang="en" class="home" href="/WAI/"> <span class="wai"><span class="wa">Web Accessibility</span> <span class="i"><span class="initieative">Initiative</span> <span>WAI</span></span></span> </a> <div class="claim"> <span>Strategies, standards, resources to make the Web accessible to people with disabilities</span> </div> <button class="button button-menu" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false" id="openmenu"><span><svg focusable="false" aria-hidden="true" class="icon-menu "><use xlink:href="/WAI/assets/images/icons.svg#icon-menu"></use></svg> Menu</span></button> </div> <div class="navigations"> <nav class="metanav" aria-label="Meta & Search" lang="en"> <ul> <li><a href="/WAI/about/participating/">Get Involved</a></li> <li><a href="/WAI/about/">About W3C WAI</a></li> <li> <form action="/WAI/search/" role="search"> <div> <label for="header-search"> <span class="visuallyhidden">Search:</span> <input id="header-search" type="search" name="q" placeholder="Search" aria-label="Search"> </label> <button class="button button-icon button-nobg button-noborder"><span><svg focusable="false" aria-label="Submit Search" class="icon-search "><use xlink:href="/WAI/assets/images/icons.svg#icon-search"></use></svg></span></button> </div> </form> </li> </ul> </nav> </div> </header><nav class="mainnav" aria-label="Main" lang="en"><ul><li><a lang="en" href="/WAI/fundamentals/"><span>Accessibility Fundamentals</span></a></li><li><a lang="en" href="/WAI/planning/"><span>Planning & Policies</span></a></li><li><a lang="en" href="/WAI/design-develop/"><span>Design & Develop</span></a></li><li><a lang="en" href="/WAI/test-evaluate/"><span>Test & Evaluate</span></a></li><li><a lang="en" href="/WAI/teach-advocate/"><span>Teach & Advocate</span></a></li><li><a lang="en" href="/WAI/standards-guidelines/"><span>Standards/<wbr>Guidelines</span></a></li></ul></nav><nav class="default-grid breadcrumb" aria-label="Breadcrumb" lang="en"> <ul style="align-self: center;"> <li><a href="/WAI/" lang="en">Home</a></li><li><a lang="en" href="/WAI/fundamentals/"><span>Accessibility Fundamentals</span></a></li><li><a lang="en" href="/WAI/people/"><span>Accessibility is About People</span></a></li><li><a lang="en" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/"><span>Perspectives Videos</span></a></li><li><a lang="en" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/understandable/" aria-current="page"><span>Understandable Content</span></a></li></ul> </nav> <div class="default-grid with-gap leftcol"> <div class="sidenav"><nav class="sn-contents" aria-label="Secondary"> <ul class="sidenav--list"> <li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/fundamentals/" class="page-link"><span>Accessibility Fundamentals</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-intro/" class="page-link"><span>Introduction to Accessibility</span></a><ul><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/videos/standards-and-benefits/" class="page-link"><span>Video Introduction</span></a></li></ul></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people/" aria-current="location" class="page-link"><span>Accessibility is About People</span></a><ul><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/" aria-current="location" class="page-link"><span>Perspectives Videos</span></a><ul><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/keyboard/" class="page-link"><span>Keyboard Compatibility</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/contrast/" class="page-link"><span>Colors with Good Contrast</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/layout/" class="page-link"><span>Clear Layout and Design</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/speech/" class="page-link"><span>Text to Speech</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/controls/" class="page-link"><span>Large Links, Buttons, and Controls</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/captions/" class="page-link"><span>Video Captions</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/customizable/" class="page-link"><span>Customizable Text</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/voice/" class="page-link"><span>Speech Recognition</span></a></li> <li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/understandable/" aria-current="page" class="page-link"><span>Understandable Content</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/notifications/" class="page-link"><span>Notifications and Feedback</span></a></li></ul></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/" class="page-link"><span>How People with Disabilities Use the Web</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/user-stories/" class="page-link"><span>Stories of Web Users</span></a><ul><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/user-stories/story-one/" class="page-link"><span>Ade's Story</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/user-stories/story-two/" class="page-link"><span>Ian's Story</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/user-stories/story-three/" class="page-link"><span>Lakshmi's Story</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/user-stories/story-four/" class="page-link"><span>Lexie's Story</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/user-stories/story-five/" class="page-link"><span>Sophie's Story</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/user-stories/story-six/" class="page-link"><span>Dhruv's Story</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/user-stories/story-seven/" class="page-link"><span>Marta's Story</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/user-stories/story-eight/" class="page-link"><span>Stefan's Story</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/user-stories/story-nine/" class="page-link"><span>Elias' Story</span></a></li></ul></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/abilities-barriers/" class="page-link"><span>Diverse Abilities and Barriers</span></a><ul><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/abilities-barriers/auditory/" class="page-link"><span>Auditory</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/abilities-barriers/cognitive/" class="page-link"><span>Cognitive and Learning</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/abilities-barriers/physical/" class="page-link"><span>Physical</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/abilities-barriers/speech/" class="page-link"><span>Speech</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/abilities-barriers/visual/" class="page-link"><span>Visual</span></a></li></ul></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/tools-techniques/" class="page-link"><span>Tools and Techniques</span></a><ul><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/tools-techniques/perception/" class="page-link"><span>Perception</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/tools-techniques/presentation/" class="page-link"><span>Presentation</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/tools-techniques/input/" class="page-link"><span>Input</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/people-use-web/tools-techniques/navigation/" class="page-link"><span>Interaction</span></a></li></ul></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/older-users/" class="page-link"><span>Older Users and Accessibility</span></a><ul><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/older-users/developing/" class="page-link"><span>How WCAG 2 Applies</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/older-users/literature/" class="page-link"><span>Literature Review</span></a></li></ul></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-usability-inclusion/" class="page-link"><span>Accessibility, Usability, Inclusion</span></a></li></ul></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/fundamentals/components/" class="page-link"><span>Components of Web Accessibility</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-principles/" class="page-link"><span>Accessibility Principles</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/research/" class="page-link"><span>Research</span></a><ul><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/research/user-requirements/" class="page-link"><span>User Requirements</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/research/ai2023/" class="page-link"><span>AI and Accessibility</span></a></li></ul></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/courses/" class="page-link"><span>Digital Accessibility Courses</span></a><ul><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/courses/foundations-course/" class="page-link"><span>W3C Foundations Online Course</span></a></li><li> <a lang="en" href="/WAI/courses/list/" class="page-link"><span>Course List</span></a></li></ul></li></ul></nav><nav class="sidenav-languages" aria-labelledby="languagehead"> <header id="languagehead">Languages/Translations</header> <ul class="langlist"> <li style="margin-bottom: 2px;"><strong style="text-transform: capitalize;">English (original)</strong></li><li style="margin-bottom: 2px;"><a style="text-transform: capitalize;" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/understandable/fr" dir="auto" translate="no" lang="fr">français</a></li></ul> <p><a href="/WAI/translations/">All Translations</a></p> <p><a href="/WAI/about/translating/">Translating WAI Resources</a></p> </nav> </div> <main id="main" lang="en"> <header class="in-resource"> <h1> Understandable Content </h1><p>in <a lang="en" href="/WAI/perspective-videos/"><span>Web Accessibility Perspectives Videos: Explore the Impact and Benefits for Everyone</span></a></p></header> <p>Web accessibility is essential for people with disabilities and useful for all. Learn about the impact of accessibility and the benefits for everyone in a variety of situations.</p> <h2 id="film" class="no-display">Video on Understandable Content</h2> <div class="video-container" data-video-type="" dir="ltr"> <video preload="metadata" data-youtube-id="BYRxF2yInfA" data-youtube-nocookie="true" data-description-audible="false" playsinline=""><track src="/WAI/wai-videos/perspective-videos/en/understandable.en.vtt" label="English" kind="captions" srclang="en" default="" /><track src="/WAI/wai-videos/perspective-videos/fr/understandable.fr.vtt" label="français" kind="subtitles" srclang="fr" /></video> </div> <div class="video-container" data-video-type="audio-described"> <video preload="metadata" data-youtube-id="MNlT1Qy3pvQ" data-youtube-nocookie="true" data-description-audible="false" playsinline=""><track src="/WAI/wai-videos/perspective-videos/en/understandable_ad.en.vtt" label="English" kind="captions" srclang="en" default="" /><track src="/WAI/wai-videos/perspective-videos/fr/understandable_ad.fr.vtt" label="français" kind="subtitles" srclang="fr" /><track src="/WAI/wai-videos/perspective-videos/en/understandable_ad_desc.en.vtt" label="English" kind="descriptions" srclang="en" default="" /><track src="/WAI/wai-videos/perspective-videos/fr/understandable_ad_desc.fr.vtt" label="français" kind="descriptions" srclang="fr" /></video> </div> <p><button id="audio_description_button"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="icon-audio-description "><use xlink:href="/WAI/assets/images/icons.svg#icon-audio-description"></use></svg> <span>Enable Audio Description</span></button></p> <script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.2.1/jquery.min.js"></script> <script src="//cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/js-cookie@3.0.1/dist/js.cookie.min.js"></script> <script src="/WAI/assets/ableplayer/build/ableplayer.min.js"></script> <script> var youTubeDataAPIKey = "AIzaSyBzq155tA3E3gaYlRdx2S9U9FM78U1-568"; var googleApiReady = false; function initGoogleClientApi() { googleApiReady = true; } </script> <script src="//apis.google.com/js/client.js?onload=initGoogleClientApi"></script> <script> (function () { 'use strict'; let player1 = new AblePlayer($('[data-video-type=""] video')); const audiodescribed = document.querySelectorAll('[data-video-type="audio-described"]'); const nonaudiodescribed = document.querySelectorAll('[data-video-type=""]'); if (audiodescribed.length > 0) { let player2 = new AblePlayer($('[data-video-type="audio-described"] video')); Array.prototype.forEach.call(audiodescribed, function(el, i){ el.setAttribute('hidden', true); }); const adbutton = document.querySelector('#audio_description_button'); adbutton.addEventListener('click', function(e){ player1.pauseMedia(); player2.pauseMedia(); if (e.currentTarget.getAttribute('data-status') === "audio-described") { Array.prototype.forEach.call(nonaudiodescribed, function(el, i){ el.removeAttribute("hidden"); }); Array.prototype.forEach.call(audiodescribed, function(el, i){ el.setAttribute('hidden', true); }); e.currentTarget.setAttribute('data-status', 'non-audio-described'); e.currentTarget.querySelector('span').textContent = 'Enable Audio Description'; } else { Array.prototype.forEach.call(nonaudiodescribed, function(el, i){ el.setAttribute('hidden', true); }); Array.prototype.forEach.call(audiodescribed, function(el, i){ el.removeAttribute("hidden"); }); e.currentTarget.setAttribute('data-status', 'audio-described'); e.currentTarget.querySelector('span').textContent = 'Disable Audio Description'; } }); } }()); </script> <p>This video information is available as a <a href="#transcript">Text Transcript with Description of Visuals</a> below.</p> <h2 id="what">What is “Understandable Content”?</h2> <p>Content must be easy to follow and understand for many users. For most content, this means simply avoiding overly complex sentences and jargon, and providing clear layout and design. For some complex content such as medical information, separate, easy-to-read information may be necessary.</p> <h2 id="who">Who depends on this feature?</h2> <ul> <li>People with learning disabilities who cannot understand complex sentence structures and vocabulary.</li> <li>People with cognitive disabilities who have difficulty focusing on long passages of dense text.</li> </ul> <h2 id="others">What are the additional benefits?</h2> <ul> <li>Content is more usable for people with lower language skills, such as people who are not fluent in the language of the website and people with low literacy.</li> <li>Content is easier to understand by users who are not familiar with the topic.</li> <li>Content is easier to skim, and get an overview of the information.</li> </ul> <h2 id="action">What needs to happen for this to work?</h2> <p>Avoid overly complex words, jargon, and acronyms, or provide explanations when they need to be used. Provide structure using headings, lists, and spacing. Provide illustrations that clarify the content, when helpful. Provide <a href="/WAI/perspective-videos/layout/">clear layout and design</a> with consistent orientation and navigation cues.</p> <h2 id="resources">Learn more</h2> <ul> <li><strong>Accessibility Principle:</strong> <ul> <li><a href="/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-principles/#understandable">Understandable information and user interface</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Getting Started:</strong> <ul> <li><a href="/WAI/tips/writing/#keep-content-clear-and-concise">Keep content clear and concise</a></li> <li><a href="/WAI/tips/writing/#provide-clear-instructions">Provide clear instructions</a></li> <li><a href="/WAI/tips/writing/#use-headings-to-convey-meaning-and-structure">Use headings to convey meaning and structure</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Easy Check:</strong> <ul> <li><a href="/WAI/test-evaluate/preliminary/#headings">Headings</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>User Story:</strong> <ul> <li><a href="/WAI/people-use-web/user-stories/archived/#classroomstudent">Preety, middle school student with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia</a></li> <li><a href="/WAI/people-use-web/user-stories/archived/#retiree">Yun, retiree with low vision, hand tremor, and mild short-term memory loss</a></li> <li><a href="/WAI/people-use-web/user-stories/archived/#supermarketassistant">Luis, supermarket assistant with Down syndrome</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (<a href="/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/">WCAG Overview</a>):</strong> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref/?tags=text">Success Criteria relating to “text”</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Mobile Applicability:</strong> <ul> <li><a href="/WAI/standards-guidelines/shared-experiences/#complex">Long words, long and complex sentences, jargon</a></li> <li><a href="/WAI/standards-guidelines/shared-experiences/#popups">Content spawning new windows without warning user</a></li> <li><a href="/WAI/standards-guidelines/shared-experiences/#dynamic">Blinking, moving, scrolling or auto-updating content</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <h2 id="transcript">Text Transcript with Description of Visuals</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th width="65%">Audio</th> <th>Visual</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Web Accessibility Perspectives: Understandable Content</td> <td>Web Accessibility Perspectives:<br /> Understandable Content</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Instead of saying: "To postulate a conceit more irksome than being addressed in sesquipedalian syntax is adamantine",<br /> it is better to say: "Being spoken to in unnecessarily long and complicated language is a pain".</td> <td>Two people are trying to follow instructions on a cooking website using lots of text with no illustrations or structure.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Yet many websites lack structuring using headings, lists and separation. Or they use overly complex language, jargon, and unexplained acronyms.</td> <td>They are looking up words in a dictionary to understand the recipe.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>It makes them difficult and unappealing to use for many people, including non-native speakers, and makes them unusable for people with cognitive and learning disabilities.</td> <td>They are confused and frustrated by the website.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Web accessibility: Essential for some, useful for all.</td> <td>They search and find a different cooking website with more structured text and illustrations.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Visit w3.org/WAI/perspectives for more information on Understandable Content</td> <td>Visit<br /> w3.org/WAI/perspectives<br /> for more information on<br /> Understandable Content. <br /> W3C Web Accessibility Initiative logo</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <nav class="pager" aria-label="Previous/Next Page"> <ul><li class="pager--item previous"> <a href="/WAI/perspective-videos/voice/"> <svg focusable="false" aria-hidden="true" class="icon-arrow-left pager--item-icon"><use xlink:href="/WAI/assets/images/icons.svg#icon-arrow-left"></use></svg> <span class="pager--item-text"> <span class="pager--item-text-direction">Previous:</span> <span class="pager--item-text-target">Speech Recognition</span> </span> </a> </li><li class="pager--item next"> <a href="/WAI/perspective-videos/notifications/"> <svg focusable="false" aria-hidden="true" class="icon-arrow-right pager--item-icon"><use xlink:href="/WAI/assets/images/icons.svg#icon-arrow-right"></use></svg> <span class="pager--item-text"> <span class="pager--item-text-direction">Next:</span> <span class="pager--item-text-target">Notifications and Feedback</span> </span> </a> </li> </ul></nav><aside class="box box-icon box-space-above" id="helpimprove" aria-label="feedback"><header class="box-h box-h-icon box-h-space-above box-h-icon"> <svg focusable="false" aria-hidden="true" class="icon-comments "><use xlink:href="/WAI/assets/images/icons.svg#icon-comments"></use></svg> <h2> Help improve this page </h2></header><div class="box-i"><p>Please share your ideas, suggestions, or comments via e-mail to the publicly-archived list <a href="mailto:wai@w3.org?body=%5Binclude%20a%20relevant%20email%20Subject%5D%0A%0A%5Bput%20comment%20here...%5D%0A%0AI%20give%20permission%20to%20share%20this%20to%20a%20publicly-archived%20e-mail%20list.">wai@w3.org</a> or via GitHub.</p> <div class="button-group"> <a href="mailto:wai@w3.org?body=%5Binclude%20a%20relevant%20email%20Subject%5D%0A%0A%5Bput%20comment%20here...%5D%0A%0AI%20give%20permission%20to%20share%20this%20to%20a%20publicly-archived%20e-mail%20list." class="button"><span>E-mail</span></a><a href=" https://github.com/w3c/wai-website/edit/main/collections/_perspective-videos/understandable.md " class="button"><span>Fork & Edit on GitHub</span></a><a href="https://github.com/w3c/wai-website/issues/new?template=content-issue.yml&wai-resource-id=wai-perspective-videos&wai-url=https://www.w3.org/WAI/perspective-videos/understandable/" class="button"><span>New GitHub Issue</span></a></div></div></aside> <a class="button button-backtotop" href="#top"><span><svg focusable="false" aria-hidden="true" class="icon-arrow-up "><use xlink:href="/WAI/assets/images/icons.svg#icon-arrow-up"></use></svg> Back to Top</span></a> </main> </div> <footer id="wai-site-footer" class="page-footer default-grid" aria-label="Page"> <div class="inner"><p><strong>Updated:</strong> 23 January 2019. <a href="/WAI/perspective-videos/changelog/">Latest changes</a>.</p><p><strong>Editor and project lead:</strong> <a href="https://www.w3.org/People/shadi">Shadi Abou-Zahra</a>. Developed by the <a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/">Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG)</a> with support from the <a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/DEV/">WAI-DEV project</a>, co-funded by the European Commission. Updated with support from the Ford Foundation. <a href="/WAI/perspective-videos/acknowledgements/">Acknowledgements</a>.</p> </div> </footer> <footer class="site-footer grid-4q" aria-label="Site"> <div class="q1-start q3-end about"> <div> <p><a class="largelink" href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/" lang="en" dir="auto" translate="no">W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)</a></p> <p>Strategies, standards, and supporting resources to make the Web accessible to people with disabilities.</p> </div> <div class="social" lang="en" dir="auto" translate="no"> <ul> <li><a href="https://w3c.social/@wai"><svg focusable="false" aria-hidden="true" class="icon-mastodon "><use xlink:href="/WAI/assets/images/icons.svg#icon-mastodon"></use></svg> Mastodon</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/w3c-wai/"><svg focusable="false" aria-hidden="true" class="icon-linkedin "><use xlink:href="/WAI/assets/images/icons.svg#icon-linkedin"></use></svg> LinkedIn</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/feed.xml"><svg focusable="false" aria-hidden="true" class="icon-rss "><use xlink:href="/WAI/assets/images/icons.svg#icon-rss"></use></svg> Feed</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU6ljj3m1fglIPjSjs2DpRA/playlists/"><svg focusable="false" aria-hidden="true" class="icon-youtube "><use xlink:href="/WAI/assets/images/icons.svg#icon-youtube"></use></svg> YouTube</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/news/subscribe/" class="button">Get News in Email</a></li> </ul> </div> <div lang="en" dir="auto" translate="no"> <p>Copyright © 2024 World Wide Web Consortium (<a href="https://www.w3.org/">W3C</a><sup>®</sup>). See <a href="/WAI/about/using-wai-material/">Permission to Use WAI Material</a>.</p> </div> </div> <div lang="en" dir="auto" translate="no" class="q4-start q4-end"> <ul style="margin-bottom:0"> <li><a href="/WAI/about/contacting/">Contact WAI</a></li> <li><a href="/WAI/sitemap/">Site Map</a></li> <li><a href="/WAI/news/">News</a></li> <li><a href="/WAI/sitemap/#archive">Archive</a></li> <li><a href="/WAI/about/accessibility-statement/">Accessibility Statement</a></li> <li><a href="/WAI/translations/"> Translations</a></li> <li><a href="/WAI/roles/">Resources for Roles</a></li> </ul> </div> </footer> <script src="/WAI/assets/scripts/details4everybody.js?1732542395990846989"></script>  <script src="/WAI/assets/scripts/svg4everybody.js?1732542395990846989"></script> <script> svg4everybody(); </script><script> var translationStrings = {}; </script> </body> </html>