Sensory Characteristics

Provide Literal Text Descriptions of All Visual and Sensory Experiences (Bronze Standard)

Why?

Everyone understands information in different ways, but for some people, certain types of information creates barriers to understanding.

While visual, auditory and tactile sensory experiences like shape, visual location, and sound can engage many users, other users may be confused by them or not be able to access them at all.

If you also explain what is happening with words, it makes it possible for more people to participate.

Who it helps?

People with visible and invisible disabilities can have difficulty accessing a range of sensory experiences.

They may have difficulty seeing it, touching it, or perceiving it as it was intended, or their assistive technology may not have the functionality to activate it.

Without being able to access your sensory content, people who are blind or visually impaired, deaf or hearing-impaired, as well as people with a range of cognitive and physical disabilities may be excluded from participating.

Providing literal text descriptions of action features will help you reach a wider and more diverse audience.

How?

Use words to explain:

• information in your images, graphics, and icons
• the location of activities on the page and how to navigate them.

Exceptions?

WCAG does not intend to prevent the use of sensory and experiential cues and experiences, just to ensure that they are also translated into text so everyone can benefit.

Technical Tips:

? (none were listed on the WCAG page)

Example

Use descriptive words like "above" or "below" to let the user know where something is happening. E.g. "Choose one of the links from the list below".

Use words to describe how things look and are shaped and their position. E.g. the arrow-shaped key, the round key on the right side.

Use "next" as well as an arrow to show how to move from one page to the next. Explain with words, "click next on the green arrow in the lower right corner to move to the next page".