# Allyant > Simple. Seamless. Accessibility. --- ## Pages - [CommonLook PDF](https://allyant.com/pdf-accessibility-software-solutions/commonlook-pdf-bakold/): CommonLook PDF: PDF Accessibility Software Simple. Smart. Scalable. Conformance and Compliance Validation. CommonLook PDF supports multiple accessibility standards, including PDF/UA,... - [2024 Forced Labour and Child Labour Report](https://allyant.com/2024-forced-labour-and-child-labour-report/): 2024 Forced Labour and Child Labour Report This Forced Labour and Child Labour Report (the “Report”) addresses the period from... - [CMS Platform Partner Program ](https://allyant.com/accessible-cms-platform-partner-program/): CivicPlus is partnered with Allyant because they’re the market leader in PDF accessibility. We want to bring the best solution... - [PDF Accessibility Software Suite](https://allyant.com/pdf-accessibility-software-solutions/): Efficiency Meets Accessibility. PDF accessibility doesn’t have to be complex or costly. CommonLook PDF streamlines compliance, empowers users, and supports... - [PDF Accessibility Testing and Monitoring](https://allyant.com/pdf-accessibility-testing-monitoring/): Scanning is Just the Start. PDF accessibility scanning and testing will help you understand the scope of the problem, but... - [Download: PDF Validator](https://allyant.com/free-pdf-accessibility-checker-validator/): And CommonLook PDF Validator is more than automated scanning. It will guide you through manual testing, giving you the confidence... - [Digital Agency Partner Program](https://allyant.com/digital-agency-partner-program/): Our Agency Partners. - [ESG Principles](https://allyant.com/esg-principles/): Environmental, Social, & Governance Principles At Allyant, we are committed to advancing Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) principles in all... - [2023 Forced Labour and Child Labour Report](https://allyant.com/2023-forced-labour-and-child-labour-report/): 2023 Forced Labour and Child Labour Report This Forced Labour and Child Labour Report (the “Report”) addresses the period from... - [Managed Compliance Services](https://allyant.com/managed-compliance-services/): Live-User Monitoring: Our live-user monitoring goes beyond the initial audit, ensuring regular review of ongoing content edits or website changes to... - [PDF Document Solutions](https://allyant.com/pdf-accessibility-software-and-services/): Leading Brands Put Their Trust in Allyant. - [Transcript for “WCAG 2.2 Guidelines” Webinar](https://allyant.com/transcript-for-wcag-2-2-guidelines-webinar/): Transcript for “WCAG 2 2 Guidelines for Mobile, Web, and Beyond” Webinar Transcript with Audio Description (DESCRIPTION) Slides. (SPEECH) Hi,... - [Transcript for “Understanding VPATs | Ensuring Accessibility Compliance” Webinar](https://allyant.com/transcript-for-understanding-vpats-ensuring-accessibility-compliance-webinar/): Transcript for “Understanding VPATs | Ensuring Accessibility Compliance” Webinar Transcript with Audio Description (SPEECH) Starters, obviously, really appreciate everybody jumping... - [Is CommonLook PDF Crashing?](https://allyant.com/commonlook-accessibility-suite/commonlook-pdf-crashing/): Step 1 Uninstall CommonLook PDF Installation Instructions Step 2 Turn Off Protected Mode in Acrobat Step 3 Reinstall CommonLook PDF - [Transcript for “Including Accessibility in Your Digital Transformation Strategy” Webinar](https://allyant.com/transcript-for-bcbs-webinar-apr-2023/): Transcript for BCBS Webinar April 2023 Transcript with Audio Description (SPEECH) So welcome, everybody, to our discussion today on including... - [CommonLook PDF Validator User Guide](https://allyant.com/commonlook-accessibility-suite/commonlook-pdf-validator-user-guide/): Opening the CommonLook PDF Validator An Important Note About Protected Mode in Acrobat: Due to a somewhat recent update and... - [PDF Validator Installation](https://allyant.com/commonlook-accessibility-suite/pdf-validator-installation/): Install the CommonLook PDF Validator Install the CommonLook PDF Validator Important note: The CommonLook PDF Validator supports both the 32... - [CL Accessibility Suite - Self-Paced Training](https://allyant.com/pdf-accessibility-software-training/cl-accessibility-suite-self-paced-training/): Training Modules CommonLook PDF – Desktop & Advanced Editor Modules CommonLook Office Modules - [CommonLook PDF (LANDING PAGE)](https://allyant.com/pdf-accessibility-software-solutions/commonlook-pdf/): CommonLook PDF: PDF Accessibility Software Simple. Smart. Scalable. Conformance and Compliance Validation. CommonLook PDF supports multiple accessibility standards, including PDF/UA,... - [Allyant Support](https://allyant.com/support/): Allyant Support We’re Here for You - [AODA Policy](https://allyant.com/aoda-policy/): AODA Policy Purpose and Scope The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) is a Provincial Legislation with the... - [Accessibility Statement](https://allyant.com/accessibility-statement/): Allyant Accessibility Statement Goal of Being Better For All Allyant is in the business of improving accessibility. Our commitment starts... - [Terms and Conditions](https://allyant.com/terms-and-conditions/): Allyant Terms and Conditions Your use of this website is subject to the following terms and conditions. By accessing this... - [Accessible Statements](https://allyant.com/accessible-statements-production-services/): Our revolutionary and proprietary aDOCS platform seamlessly and securely integrates with customer-designated, customer-specific document repositories and automates the conversion of... - [Transcript for “How to Successfully Prepare for a Digital Accessibility Audit” Webinar](https://allyant.com/transcript-for-preparing-digital-accessibility-audit-webinar/): Transcript for “How to Successfully Prepare for a Digital Accessibility Audit” Webinar Transcript with Audio Description (DESCRIPTION) Text, Allyant. Simple.... - [Privacy Policy](https://allyant.com/privacy-policy/): Allyant Privacy Policy Last Reviewed: October 29, 2024 Allyant and its affiliated companies1 (“Allyant,” “we,” “us,” “our”) are committed to... --- ## Posts - [Colorado's New Digital Accessibility Rules: What You Need to Know](https://allyant.com/blog/colorados-new-digital-accessibility-rules-what-you-need-to-know/): Colorado is taking a bold, impactful step toward inclusion and equity with the adoption of comprehensive new digital accessibility rules... - [Applying WCAG 2.2 to Mobile Apps: What the New W3C Guidance Means for Accessibility](https://allyant.com/blog/applying-wcag-2-2-mobile-apps-new-w3c-guidance-meaning-for-accessibility/): The W3C has published a long-anticipated Working Group Note: Applying WCAG 2. 2 to Mobile Applications. A Working Group Note... - [Virginia Passes HB2541: A Milestone Achievement for Accessible Procurement](https://allyant.com/blog/virginia-passes-hb2541-a-milestone-achievement-for-accessible-procurement/): On March 24, 2025, Virginia made a bold move by passing House Bill 2541 (HB2541), which is a sweeping update... - [What is Closed Captioning & Why is it Important for Accessibility?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-closed-captioning-why-is-it-important-for-accessibility/): Proper captioning is essential for providing equitable digital access to everyone. Although primarily used by individuals with disabilities, captions can... - [Working with Colleagues with Disabilities: A Colleague’s Perspective](https://allyant.com/blog/working-with-colleagues-with-disabilities-a-colleagues-perspective/): In the ever-evolving digital landscape, inclusivity transcends being just a buzzword—it is a shared responsibility. As a Project Support Manager... - [How Alternative Formats Help People with Visual Impairments Access Information](https://allyant.com/blog/how-alternative-formats-help-people-with-visual-impairments-access-information/): Accessing and reading information is a fundamental part of daily life, whether it’s a bank statement, a textbook, or a... - [Which PDF Accessibility Standard Should I Check My Document Against?](https://allyant.com/blog/which-pdf-accessibility-standard-should-i-check-my-document-against/): Once PDF remediation is complete, we must run a verification to check for accessibility. We do this to identify anything... - [Understanding the Consistent Navigation Requirement in Web Accessibility](https://allyant.com/blog/understanding-the-consistent-navigation-requirement-in-web-accessibility/): One of the 4 core web accessibility principles outlined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is Understandable. Under this... - [Best Practices to Ensure Hyperlink Accessibility: Ensuring Inclusive & Usable Links in Digital Media](https://allyant.com/blog/best-practices-to-ensure-hyperlink-accessibility-ensuring-inclusive-usable-links-in-digital-media/): Hyperlinks serve as the backbone of digital content, connecting users to additional resources, information, and services. Whether on a website,... - [6 DOJ-Approved Screen Readers](https://allyant.com/blog/6-doj-approved-screen-readers/): Screen readers are essential to web accessibility, and screen reader testing is a significant portion of our work at Allyant.... - [5 Graphic Design Tips for Creating an Accessible Website](https://allyant.com/blog/5-graphic-design-tips-for-creating-an-accessible-website/): Designing an accessible website involves creating a digital experience that everyone can use, regardless of their abilities. These five graphic... - [What is WCAG Accessibility? Why is WCAG chosen as the Accessibility Standard?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-wcag-accessibility-why-is-wcag-chosen-as-the-accessibility-standard/): WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) accessibility refers to web accessibility as defined by global web accessibility regulations. These regulations (WCAG)... - [How to do an Accessibility Test using TalkBack](https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-do-an-accessibility-test-using-talkback/): Making an app accessible isn’t just a checkbox in your development cycle; it’s about ensuring everyone can enjoy a great... - [What We Can Learn about Digital Accessibility from Gaming](https://allyant.com/blog/what-we-can-learn-about-digital-accessibility-from-gaming/): People with disabilities should be able to fully participate in any activity they want. We all know this, believe it,... - [Does WCAG Apply to Print?](https://allyant.com/blog/does-wcag-apply-to-print/): As documentation moves increasingly into the digital space and companies seek to economize by reducing printing, it’s reasonable to see... - [5 Screen Reader Testing Best Practices for Website Accessibility](https://allyant.com/blog/5-screen-reader-testing-best-practices-for-website-accessibility/): So, you’re curious about how screen reader software really works, huh? Or maybe you want to know how users with... - [When and Why: CommonLook PDF & CommonLook Office](https://allyant.com/blog/when-and-why-commonlook-pdf-commonlook-office/): One of the more common questions we receive at Allyant is when to use CommonLook PDF or CommonLook Office. Additionally,... - [Preparing for 2025: The Digital Accessibility Landscape](https://allyant.com/blog/preparing-for-2025-the-digital-accessibility-landscape/): As we kick off 2025, digital accessibility continues to evolve from a niche consideration to a mainstream priority for organizations... - [A Practical Guide for SMBs Responding to ADA Website Demand Letters and Lawsuits](https://allyant.com/blog/guide-how-respond-ada-website-demand-letters-lawsuits/): Let’s face it: finding a web accessibility demand letter or lawsuit in your inbox can send your stress levels through... - [6 Things to Look for in an Accessibility Audit: The Most Common WCAG Violations](https://allyant.com/blog/6-things-to-look-for-in-an-accessibility-audit-the-most-common-wcag-violations/): Regarding digital accessibility assessments for our clients, we are often asked what the most common issues our team identifies when... - [Navigating the European Accessibility Act: How to Avoid Penalties and Stay Compliant](https://allyant.com/blog/european-accessibility-act-avoid-penalties-stay-compliant/): The European Accessibility Act (EAA) represents a paradigm shift, transforming accessibility from a recommended practice to a legal obligation for... - [Why EU Digital Agencies Must Prioritize Accessibility Now: Building Competitive Advantage Through Allyant's Global Partner Program](https://allyant.com/blog/why-eu-digital-agencies-must-prioritize-accessibility-now-building-competitive-advantage-through-allyants-global-partner-program/): As the June 2025 deadline for the European Accessibility Act (EAA) approaches, digital agencies across the EU and those building... - [EAA Compliance Checklist: Key Steps to Meeting 2025 Accessibility Requirements](https://allyant.com/blog/eaa-compliance-checklist-key-steps-to-meeting-2025-accessibility-requirements/): The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is reshaping the way businesses approach accessibility globally. By June 28, 2025, companies must comply... - [6 Accessible Styling Practices for Web Accessibility](https://allyant.com/blog/6-accessible-styling-practices-for-web-accessibility/): Creating accessible websites isn’t just about meeting legal requirements; it’s about ensuring an inclusive experience for all users, regardless of... - [From WCAG 2.1 to 2.2: Why AA Conformance is the Optimal Accessibility Goal](https://allyant.com/blog/difference-between-wcag-2-a-aa-explained/): With growing global regulations and legal demands, digital accessibility remains a critical factor in ensuring that all users, including those... - [What is a Digital Accessibility Audit Report?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-a-digital-accessibility-audit-report/): There are a multitude of reasons that could lead to an organization needing an accessibility audit. This could be triggered... - [Common Yet Easily Fixable Accessibility Issues I Encounter on Most Websites as a Blind User](https://allyant.com/blog/common-yet-easily-fixable-accessibility-issues-i-encounter-on-most-websites-as-a-blind-user/): Imagine you are really excited about doing something online, such as buying that shiny new gadget, those concert tickets you’ve... - [How to Do an Accessibility Test Using VoiceOver](https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-do-an-accessibility-test-using-voiceover/): Digital accessibility is key to ensuring that all users, regardless of ability, can seamlessly use your mobile application. One of... - [Mobile Application Accessibility: Understanding WCAG Conformance and Legal Requirements for Your Native Applications](https://allyant.com/blog/mobile-application-accessibility-understanding-wcag-conformance-and-legal-requirements-for-your-native-applications/): What is Mobile Application Accessibility? Mobile application accessibility isn’t that unlike web accessibility. It extends the boundaries of the term... - [Allyant and Carahsoft Partner to Provide Premier Accessibility Solutions to Government Agencies for 508/ADA Compliance](https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-and-carahsoft-partner-to-provide-premier-accessibility-solutions-to-government-agencies-for-508-ada-compliance/): Innovative Customer Experience and Engagement SolutionsNow Available to the Public Sector WASHINGTON and RESTON, Va. – November 13, 2024 —... - [Contracted vs. Uncontracted Braille: Which Type Should I Use?](https://allyant.com/blog/two-types-braille-contracted-vs-uncontracted/): Braille is a form of communication used worldwide, primarily by blind and visually impaired people. There are two forms of... - [Accessible Procurement Demystified: 6 Best Practices for Evaluating Technology](https://allyant.com/blog/accessible-procurement-demystified-6-best-practices-for-evaluating-technology/): Procuring accessible technology can feel overwhelming, particularly for organizations unfamiliar with the technicalities of digital accessibility requirements for assistive technology... - [Banff Bound: A Somewhat Accessible Journey](https://allyant.com/blog/banff-bound-a-somewhat-accessible-journey/): My family recently embarked on a vacation to Banff National Park. We packed up our mothers, my guide dog Jeb,... - [How to Make Visual Content Accessible in PDFs](https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-make-visual-content-accessible-in-pdfs/): Overview of accessibility in relation to visual content: Design with Accessibility in Mind: Simple example: Advanced example: Two common examples:... - [The ROI of Digital Accessibility for B2C and B2B Brands](https://allyant.com/blog/the-roi-of-digital-accessibility-for-b2c-and-b2b-brands/): As the reader, you are likely accessing this article to understand and quantify the return-on-investment for digital accessibility, which you... - [From AODA to ACA: Understanding Canada's Digital Accessibility Regulations](https://allyant.com/blog/from-aoda-to-aca-understanding-canadas-digital-accessibility-regulations/): Introduction: Canada’s Journey Toward Digital Accessibility As digital spaces expand into every facet of life, ensuring these spaces are inclusive... - [If My Organization Gets Contacted for an ADA-accessible Statement, Where Should We Begin?](https://allyant.com/blog/if-my-organization-gets-contacted-for-an-ada-accessible-statement-where-should-we-begin/): Every U. S. organization communicating with people about their personal information—including account statements, bills, and medical information—is subject to accessibility... - [Digital Accessibility for Mobile Apps](https://allyant.com/blog/digital-accessibility-for-mobile-apps/): Accessibility is no longer optional. As mobile devices dominate our daily lives, ensuring native mobile apps are accessible to everyone,... - [How to Ensure Your VPAT ACR is Actionable, Not Just a Checklist](https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-ensure-your-vpat-acr-is-actionable-not-just-a-checklist/): In my daily work in digital accessibility, I have seen a concerning trend with the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)... - [Alternate Format Documents and Non-Text Content: Accessibility for Images, Tables, and Maps](https://allyant.com/blog/alternate-format-documents-and-non-text-content-accessibility-for-images-tables-and-maps/): The old expression “a picture is worth a thousand words” can be applied to modern digital content just as readily... - [How Does a Screen Reader Work? What's its Role in Web and PDF Accessibility?](https://allyant.com/blog/how-does-a-screen-reader-work-whats-its-role-in-web-and-pdf-accessibility/): A screen reader is software primarily used by blind or visually impaired people who are unable to see content displayed... - [Navigating the European Accessibility Act: Why Software Companies Need a Strong Accessibility Roadmap](https://allyant.com/blog/navigating-the-european-accessibility-act-why-software-companies-need-a-strong-accessibility-roadmap/): As the European Accessibility Act (EAA) approaches its 2025 implementation deadline, software companies must take proactive steps to ensure compliance.... - [Mastering the HTML tabindex Attribute for Enhanced Web Accessibility](https://allyant.com/blog/mastering-the-aria-tabindex-attribute-for-enhanced-web-accessibility/): When creating accessible web pages, the best principle to keep in mind is that standard HTML elements are fully accessible... - [Understanding the European Accessibility Act: Why U.S. Companies Must Prepare for 2025 Compliance](https://allyant.com/blog/understanding-european-accessibility-act-eaa-why-us-companies-must-prepare-for-2025-compliance/): The European Accessibility Act (EAA), set to take effect in June 2025, is a significant regulatory framework designed to ensure... - [The Cost of Digital Accessibility: A Comprehensive Guide for Organizations](https://allyant.com/blog/how-much-digital-web-accessibility-a-comprehensive-cost/): Navigating the complexities of budgeting for digital accessibility can be daunting for many teams. Without a clear understanding of what... - [Differences and Similarities in Structural & Accessibility Standards in Digital Documents](https://allyant.com/blog/differences-and-similarities-in-structural-accessibility-standards-in-digital-documents/): Scope of this Article Running a standard check may be the most essential step for document accessibility. For this reason,... - [What are Accessible Textbooks and How Do You Make Them?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-are-accessible-textbooks-and-how-do-you-make-them/): Accessible textbooks are essential learning aids for students of all ages with disabilities. Students with disabilities require access to the... - [What is a Braille Printer/Embosser? Why is it So Important in Accessibility?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-a-braille-printer-embosser-why-is-it-so-important-in-accessibility/): The ability to read and write Braille is essential for people who are blind or visually impaired to communicate effectively. To create... - [What is PDF/UA and Why is it Important?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-pdf-ua-and-why-is-it-important/): PDF/UA is an accessibility standard that sets requirements and guidelines to ensure that PDF documents are accessible to all audiences.... - [Allyant Awards Scholarships to Canadians through the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC)](https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-awards-scholarships-to-canadians-through-the-alliance-for-equality-of-blind-canadians-aebc/): Allyant proudly continues its thirteen-year tradition by awarding two $1,000 scholarships through The Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC).... - [5 Things to Consider Before Hiring an Alternative Format Accessibility Vendor](https://allyant.com/blog/5-things-to-consider-before-hiring-an-alternative-format-accessibility-vendor/): Vendors of accessibility services can provide excellent solutions that help you meet legal obligations without the need for your own... - [Choosing the Right Digital Accessibility Partner: How Digital Agencies Can Boost Client Performance and Compliance](https://allyant.com/blog/choosing-the-right-digital-accessibility-partner-how-digital-agencies-can-boost-client-performance-and-compliance/): In today’s digital age, ensuring everyone can access an organization’s online content is more than just a legal requirement—it’s about... - [What is PDF Accessibility Training and Why is it Important?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-pdf-accessibility-training-and-why-is-it-important/): It is important to ensure that everyone, including people with disabilities, has equal access to information. PDF documents are commonly... - [Allyant® Partners with CivicPlus® to Empower Local Governments with PDF Accessibility Remediation.](https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-partners-with-civicplus-to-empower-local-governments-with-pdf-accessibility-remediation/): The partnership aims to deliver a comprehensive suite of PDF accessibility software and remediation solutions, supporting local governments in achieving... - [European Accessibility Act: What Your Organization Needs to Know](https://allyant.com/blog/european-accessibility-act-what-your-organization-needs-to-know/): June 2025 is the deadline for businesses within the EU to meet accessibility standards outlined in The European Accessibility Act... - [How to Implement Alternate Formats in Your Business](https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-implement-alternate-formats-in-your-business/): Every organization that deals with the public – whether in the public, private, or not-for-profit sectors – releases communications that... - [HHS Final Rule Strengthening Digital Accessibility: What Your Healthcare Organization Needs to Know](https://allyant.com/blog/hhs-final-rule-may-2024-digital-accessibility-healthcare-organization/): The healthcare sector, specifically related to digital accessibility, came under a fair amount of scrutiny during the COVID pandemic when... - [My Experience of Using Web Applications as a Blind User](https://allyant.com/blog/my-experience-of-using-web-applications-as-a-blind-user/): My name is Aaron Page. I am Allyant’s VP of Accessibility, and I am blind. I was born with congenital... - [Most Important PDF Accessibility Standards](https://allyant.com/blog/most-important-pdf-accessibility-standards/): As organizations dive into the often murky waters of PDF accessibility, questions on standards are inevitable. How many standards are... - [Significance of WCAG Compliance for Organizations](https://allyant.com/blog/significance-of-wcag-compliance-for-organizations/): At Allyant, we often discuss the need for websites and mobile applications to be “WCAG compliant. ” But what does... - [Crafting Effective Accessibility Statements: Embracing DOJ Mandates and Section 508 with Allyant's Guidance](https://allyant.com/blog/what-accessibility-statement-how-to-create-it-website/): With the U. S. Department of Justice finalizing a new rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act to enhance... - [Global Accessibility Regulations: What Applies to Your Organization?](https://allyant.com/blog/global-accessibility-regulations-what-applies-to-your-organization/): The start of 2024 has been a groundbreaking year in the digital accessibility space. From state laws like Colorado’s HB21-1110... - [Allyant Celebrates the 13th AnnualGlobal Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)](https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-celebrates-the-13th-annualglobal-accessibility-awareness-day-gaad/): May 16, 2024, marks the 13th anniversary of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), a day dedicated to raising awareness about... - [Is Large Print Considered Assistive Technology (AT)?](https://allyant.com/blog/is-large-print-considered-assistive-technology-at/): Large Print is one of Allyant’s core service offerings. We can produce print or digital text documents in which the font... - [What is Included in the Purview of Web Accessibility Services?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-web-accessibility-services-explained-examples-significance/): At Allyant, we provide comprehensive accessibility solutions, including expert web accessibility services. In this blog post, we will discuss the... - [Allyant Launches Program to Support HHS's New Rule Clarifying Accessibility Requirements for Federally Funded Healthcare and Human Services.](https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-launches-program-to-support-hhss-new-rule-clarifying-accessibility-requirements-for-federally-funded-healthcare-and-human-services/): New York, May 2, 2024—Allyant, a world leader in accessibility solutions, announced today the unveiling of its new healthcare-centric program... - [What is Electronic Braille?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-electronic-braille/): Blind and visually impaired people (and others) worldwide use braille daily to communicate with others. In addition to hard-copy braille,... - [3 Things I Learned at CSUN 2024 as a User with Vision Impairment](https://allyant.com/blog/3-things-i-learned-at-csun-2024-as-a-user-with-vision-impairment/): This year, I had the privilege of presenting at CSUN 2024 on multiple topics on behalf of Allyant. In addition... - [Do I Need to Make My Website Material Available in Braille?](https://allyant.com/blog/do-i-need-to-make-my-website-material-available-in-braille/): Individuals who are unable to see or have difficulty with their vision often use braille (a system of raised dots that represent... - [My Experience Using Assistive Technology as an Indie Game Developer](https://allyant.com/blog/my-experiences-of-using-assistive-technology-as-an-indie-game-developer/): I’ve been an avid gamer since I was about three years old, playing Super Mario, Zelda, and Duck Hunt on... - [Allyant Launches a Government-Specific Program to Support the DOJ's New Rule Requiring State and Local Governments to Improve Accessibility for Web, Mobile, and Electronic Documents.](https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-launches-a-government-specific-program-to-support-the-dojs-new-rule-requiring-state-and-local-governments-to-improve-accessibility-for-web-mobile-and-electronic-documents/): New York, April 9, 2024—Today, Allyant, a global leader in accessibility solutions, unveiled a specialized program tailored for government entities.... - [What is Large Print and Why is it Important?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-large-print-why-use-importance-font-size/): Large Print (also large print, large-print, large font, and large type) is the term for print or digital text documents... - [What is Nesting in PDF Accessibility and Why is it Important?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-nesting-in-pdf-accessibility-and-why-is-it-important/): When we refer to the nesting of tags, we are talking about the presence of tags inside other tags. Synonymously,... - [Understanding VPATs and Their Importance in University Partnerships](https://allyant.com/blog/understanding-vpats-and-their-importance-in-university-partnerships/): There has been an influx of accessibility-related questions for both education customers and organizations that sell to education institutions. Every... - [WebAIM Screen Reader Survey #10: Key Takeaways for 2024 and Beyond](https://allyant.com/blog/webaim-screen-reader-survey-10-key-takeaways-for-2024-and-beyond/): WebAIM recently released the tenth edition of its annual survey on screen reader preferences. This survey, which took place in... - [My Experience of Navigating the Web as a Blind User](https://allyant.com/blog/my-experience-of-navigating-the-web-as-a-blind-user/): My name is Aaron Page. I am Allyant’s Director of Accessibility, and I am blind. I was born with congenital... - [How Accessible is Fitness for Users with Vision Impairment?](https://allyant.com/blog/how-accessible-is-fitness-for-users-with-vision-impairment/): Maintaining proper physical fitness is crucial for everyone’s well-being. For individuals with visual impairments, achieving fitness can be a daunting... - [What are Alternative Formats?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-alternative-formats-why-important-alt-formats-examples/): The term “alternative formats” refers to printed and electronic versions of documents intended for users with disabilities. In both print... - [OMB's Call-To-Action: The Role of Section 508 in Accessible Procurement](https://allyant.com/blog/ombs-call-to-action-the-role-of-section-508-in-accessible-procurement/): The significance of Section 508 is on the rise in 2024. Its origins date back to 1998 when the U. S. Congress... - [OMB’s Release on Strengthening Digital Accessibility and Section 508 Management](https://allyant.com/blog/ombs-release-on-strengthening-digital-accessibility-and-section-508-management/): On December 21, 2023, the Office of Management released a memorandum, M-24-08, directed to all Heads of Executive Departments and... - [What are Headings and How Should I Use Them for Web Accessibility?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-are-headings-and-how-should-i-use-them-for-web-accessibility-2/): The proper use of headings when creating a webpage is essential to website accessibility. Proper heading structure is one of... - [Colorado’s Accessibility Law HB21-1110 Explained](https://allyant.com/blog/colorados-accessibility-law-hb21-1110-explained/): In 2021, the Colorado government formally passed the bill known as HB21-1110. This is more formally known as Colorado Laws... - [Limitations of an Automated-Only Web Accessibility Plan](https://allyant.com/blog/limitations-of-an-automated-only-web-accessibility-plan/): When it comes to building a comprehensive web accessibility plan, many teams find themselves assessing live-user testing in comparison with... - [7 Common PDF Accessibility and Remediation Mistakes](https://allyant.com/blog/7-common-pdf-accessibility-and-remediation-mistakes/): PDF documents are highly preferred by authors prioritizing accessibility because of their portability and accessibility benefits. PDFs offer a consistent... - [Advantages of Braille and Braille Keyboards](https://allyant.com/blog/advantages-of-braille-keyboards-useful-helpful/): Knowing how to read and write braille is a valuable skill, especially for people with vision loss who rely on... - [Top 4 Things to Look for in a PDF Accessibility Checker](https://allyant.com/blog/top-4-things-to-look-for-in-a-pdf-accessibility-checker/): In the world of PDF accessibility testing, there are more than a few options that can supposedly help you verify the compliance... - [ProcureEnsure: Solving the Challenge of Accessibility Reviews in Procurement](https://allyant.com/blog/procure-accessible-software-technology-accessibility-procure-ensure/): The focus on digital accessibility has increased with the evolution of technology and connected customers. Many teams are now more... - [What is a Braille Keyboard?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-a-braille-keyboard-types/): Braille keyboards are special kinds of keyboards that allow visually impaired and blind people who rely on braille to communicate... - [Does WCAG Apply to PDFs?](https://allyant.com/blog/does-wcag-apply-to-pdfs/): Yes, WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) applies to PDF documents. These guidelines help ensure that PDFs are accessible to everyone,... - [What is PDF Remediation?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-pdf-remediation/): PDF Remediation is fixing accessibility errors that make it difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to read, navigate, and... - [6 Common Examples of Assistive Technology](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-assistive-technology-definition-examples/): People with disabilities worldwide rely on assistive technology to be as independent as possible in their daily lives. Assistive technology... - [Can Screen Readers Read Images?](https://allyant.com/blog/can-screen-readers-read-images-text-on-images/): A screen reader can read or access an image only through the image’s alternative text (alt text). If an image... - [6 Common Alt Text Mistakes and Best Practices](https://allyant.com/blog/6-common-alt-text-mistakes-and-best-practices/): Effective alternative (alt) text is essential to web accessibility and usability. Alt text is non-visual text read by screen readers that... - [5 Reasons Why a Web Accessibility Audit is Important](https://allyant.com/blog/5-reasons-why-a-web-accessibility-audit-is-important/): As digital connectivity expands, ensuring website accessibility has become a crucial business and technology objective. This guarantees that all individuals,... - [4 Principles of Web Accessibility](https://allyant.com/blog/4-principles-of-web-accessibility/): The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the foundation of website accessibility, are organized into four overarching principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and... - [Allyant Proactively Adapts to WCAG 2.2 Ahead of Official Launch](https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-proactively-adapts-to-wcag-2-2-ahead-of-official-launch/): Ottawa, Ontario — October 5, 2023 – Today, the W3C unveiled WCAG 2. 2, which aims to expand its range... - [VPAT vs WCAG: Their Differences and Similarities](https://allyant.com/blog/vpat-vs-wcag-their-differences-and-similarities/): Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are terms used in the digital accessibility industry.... - [5 Simple Ways to Improve Web Accessibility for the Hearing Impaired](https://allyant.com/blog/5-simple-ways-to-improve-web-accessibility-for-the-hearing-impaired/): Digital accessibility for people with hearing impairments is crucial for equitable access to all audio content on the internet. This has... - [7 Quick Ways to Check if a Website Passes a Color Contrast Check](https://allyant.com/blog/7-quick-ways-to-check-if-a-website-passes-a-color-contrast-check/): What is acceptable color contrast, and how do you measure it? Appropriate color contrast is an essential component of digital... - [How to Shift Left in Digital Accessibility: A Guide to Building and Designing Inclusively from the Start](https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-shift-left-in-digital-accessibility-a-guide-to-building-and-designing-inclusively-from-the-start/): One of the most common questions we receive from design and development teams or digital agencies is, “When is the best... - [Web Accessibility for People with Hearing Disabilities](https://allyant.com/blog/web-accessibility-for-people-with-hearing-disabilities/): Website accessibility ensures everyone—including people with disabilities—can read, understand, navigate, and interact with a website. You may be familiar with... - [4 Free Best Web Accessibility Testing Tools: A Detailed Comparison](https://allyant.com/blog/4-best-web-accessibility-testing-tools-a-detailed-comparison/): Digital accessibility continues to be a hot-button topic from many angles, whether DEI, legal, compliance, or legislation (or lack thereof).... - [What is the Trusted Tester Web Certification Program?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-the-trusted-tester-web-certification-program/): Our mission here at Allyant is to ensure everyone has equitable digital access. A free program called Trusted Tester web certification provides... - [How to Leverage Tax Credits by Making Your Website ADA Compliant](https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-leverage-tax-credits-by-making-your-website-ada-compliant/): In today’s digital age, a company’s online presence is paramount to its success. As businesses increasingly rely on their websites... - [What Is A Web Accessibility Audit?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-web-accessibility-audit-how-conducted-time-cost/): It never ceases to amaze me how much technology has transformed the world in recent years, making information and services... - [Understanding the DOJ's Proposed ADA Regulation Updates for Websites and Mobile Apps](https://allyant.com/blog/understanding-the-dojs-proposed-ada-regulation-updates-for-websites-and-mobile-apps/): On August 4th, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a notice of proposed rulemaking, which could substantially affect the ADA’s... - [What Happens If Your Website Is Not Accessible?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-happens-if-your-website-is-not-accessible/): In today’s digital era, a website is the first line of consumer interaction for most businesses or organizations. This results... - [What is the Web Accessibility Initiative? What's Its Purpose, & What Does It Do?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-the-web-accessibility-initiative-whats-its-purpose-what-does-it-do/): The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is a W3C initiative that develops standards and other support materials to help people better understand and... - [Why is Web Accessibility Important in Higher Education?](https://allyant.com/blog/why-is-web-accessibility-important-in-higher-education/): Higher education is an essential part of an individual’s career growth which makes it critical that everyone has equal opportunities... - [What is the W3C and Why is it So Important?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-the-w3c-and-why-is-it-so-important/): Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the Internet, founded the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) in 1994. The W3C is an... - [Why is Accessibility Good for Business?](https://allyant.com/blog/why-is-accessibility-good-for-business/): As an organization, prioritizing accessibility has an obvious moral component which should be the underlying factor. We all have a... - [How Do I Check If My Website Is WCAG Compliant (And Does It Need To Be)?](https://allyant.com/blog/how-do-i-check-if-my-website-is-wcag-compliant-does-it-need-to-compliant/): One of the most common questions we get from organizations interested in digital accessibility is simply, “Is my website compliant?... - [Accessible Hiring Best Practices: 6 Steps to a More Inclusive Hiring Process](https://allyant.com/blog/accessible-hiring-best-practices-6-steps-to-a-more-inclusive-hiring-process/): Accessible hiring practices are essential for the long-term success and sustainability of organizations. This article will explore the concept of... - [Ensuring an Inclusive Digital Footprint: The Importance of Digital Accessibility for DEI Initiatives](https://allyant.com/blog/what-dei-initiatives-mean-digital-web-accessibility-role/): In today’s rapidly evolving and highly competitive business environment, organizations realize the power and critical importance of Diversity, Equity, and... - [Is Large Print Inherently Accessible?](https://allyant.com/blog/is-large-print-inherently-accessible/): Large print—also known as large-font or large-type—refers to formatting a textual document whose font size is significantly bigger than the 12 points most... - [SEO Accessibility: 4 Quick Accessibility Fixes to Improve SEO](https://allyant.com/blog/seo-accessibility-4-quick-accessibility-fixes-to-improve-seo/): For any organization to be successful, it is crucial to make wise business decisions that yield maximum Return on Investment... - [What are the Digital Accessibility Standards in California for Healthcare Providers?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-are-the-digital-accessibility-standards-in-california-for-healthcare-providers/): California is committed to ensuring its citizens have access to accessible documents to comply with accessibility laws and meet the... - [Can Screen Readers Read PDFs?](https://allyant.com/blog/can-screen-readers-read-pdfs/): Yes, screen readers can read PDFs if the PDF’s are accessible, meaning they can be accessed by everyone, including people... - [Allyant Celebrates Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) for First Time as Unified Brand.](https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-celebrates-global-accessibility-awareness-day-gaad-for-first-time-as-unified-brand/): Ottawa, Ontario — May 16, 2023 – As Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) approaches, Allyant, the world’s leading accessibility solutions... - [WCAG 2.2 Explained: Everything You Need to Know about the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2](https://allyant.com/blog/wcag-2-2-explained-everything-you-need-to-know-about-web-content-accessibility-guidelines-2-2/): On October 5, 2023, the W3C formally released and recommended the updated WCAG 2. 2 guidelines, incorporating final feedback from... - [Section 508 Compliance: Everything You Need to Know](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-section-508-compliant-document-definition-explanation-example/): Article Outline Evolution of accessibility standards Over time, accessibility standards have evolved to include requirements addressing the needs of electronic... - [Why Obtain a Third-Party VPAT?](https://allyant.com/blog/why-obtain-a-third-party-vpat/): A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is a document that provides information about a product’s compliance with accessibility standards. Learn... - [Can Artificial Intelligence Make PDFs Accessible?](https://allyant.com/blog/can-artificial-intelligence-make-pdfs-accessible/): A PDF document is considered accessible if it can be used/accessed by everyone, including people with disabilities. There are several accessibility... - [What is Section 508 Compliance & Why Does it Matter for Accessibility?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-section-508-compliance-why-it-matters-accessibility/): The roots of Section 508 go back to 1973 – the establishment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 – which required unrestricted... - [Importance of Live-User Testing for Web Accessibility](https://allyant.com/blog/importance-of-live-user-testing-for-web-accessibility/): Digital Accessibility has continued to gain significant traction across nearly every vertical in recent years. In some ways, it was... - [What is a VPAT and Why is it Important for Accessibility?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-vpat-definition-importance-accessibility/): The digital accessibility industry is filled with various buzzwords, many of which seem to ebb and flow based on the... - [What are the Differences and Similarities Between Structural and Accessibility Standards in Digital Documents?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-are-the-differences-and-similarities-between-structural-and-accessibility-standards-in-digital-documents/): Scope of this article: Running a standard check may be the most essential step for document accessibility. For this reason,... - [Cerebral Palsy (CP) Awareness Day 2023](https://allyant.com/blog/cerebral-palsy-cp-awareness-day-2023/): In honor of Cerebral Palsy (CP) Awareness Day on March 25, I want to share some facts and figures about... - [Justice Department Releases First Section 508 Report Since 2012](https://allyant.com/blog/justice-department-releases-first-section-508-report-since-2012/): The report comes after lawmakers raised bipartisan concerns about agencies’ continued inability to meet federal technology accessibility standards. - [Why are All PDFs Not Accessible by Default, and Can Accessible PDFs be Edited, If Needed?](https://allyant.com/blog/why-pdfs-not-accessible-by-default-can-accessible-pdfs-edited/): When working with motivated and capable accessibility professionals, one of the common questions we hear is, “why isn’t accessibility automatic... - [The Human Experience of Accessibility – Story #2](https://allyant.com/blog/the-human-experience-of-accessibility-story-2/): Accessibility awareness has improved substantially in recent years—in fact, it wasn’t long ago that many people with disabilities could not... - [PDF Accessibility: Testing and Verification](https://allyant.com/blog/pdf-accessibility-testing-and-verification/): STEP 8: PDF VALIDATOR The Final Step to PDF Accessibility In previous articles for our 2018 series on PDF accessibility,... - [Final Steps to Ensuring Accessible PDF Documents](https://allyant.com/blog/final-steps-to-ensuring-accessible-pdf-documents/): STEP 7: OTHER TAGGING In this series of articles, we’ve discussed how to identify and address all sorts of PDF... - [Demystifying PDF Tables](https://allyant.com/blog/demystifying-pdf-tables/): When it comes to PDF accessibility, tables present a host of potential problems. In this article, we’ll examine some of... - [How to Make Your Social Media Accessible: 6 Things You Need to Know](https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-make-your-social-media-accessible-6-things-you-need-to-know/): Social media makes it easy to promote your company and services and interact with your customers and prospects. To meet... - [PDF Accessibility: Lists](https://allyant.com/blog/pdf-accessibility-lists/): Learn why PDF lists can cause accessibility issues, how to setup lists correctly from the source and how to fix... - [Alternative Text (Alt-text) Accessibility Guidelines](https://allyant.com/blog/alternative-text-alt-text-accessibility-guidelines/): One of the first steps to web and document accessibility, providing accurate and appropriate descriptions for an image, can be... - [Color and Contrast for Accessibility](https://allyant.com/blog/color-and-contrast-for-accessibility/): This is the third in an eight-part article series. STEP 3: COLOR & CONTRAST Color and Contrast Best Practices for... - [The Relevance of Metadata in Accessible PDFs](https://allyant.com/blog/the-relevance-of-metadata-in-accessible-pdfs/): This is the second in an eight-part article series. STEP 2: METADATA What is Metadata in a PDF File? The... - [PDF Tagging and Reading Order  ](https://allyant.com/blog/pdf-tagging-and-reading-order/): This is the first of an eight-part series on PDF Accessibility STEP 1: TAGS & READING ORDER Making sure that... - [Braille Writing with Braille Keyboards](https://allyant.com/blog/braille-writing-with-braille-keyboards/): Braille writing and creating braille documents can be done in a few different ways. Individuals with blindness or low vision... - [Four Reasons You Need PDF Validator](https://allyant.com/blog/four-reasons-you-need-pdf-validator/): We put a lot of emphasis on things like authoring Word documents with accessibility in mind and remediating existing PDFs... - [Allyant Celebrates Assistive Technology Awareness Month!](https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-celebrates-assistive-technology-awareness-month/): To celebrate, let’s discuss the impact of various AT devices on the lives of people with disabilities, including some of... - [3 Quick and Easy Ways to Tell if a PDF is Accessible](https://allyant.com/blog/3-quick-and-easy-ways-to-tell-if-a-pdf-is-accessible/): If a PDF cannot be read and navigated by everyone, including people with vision impairments or other disabilities, then the... - [Allyant’s Platinum-Level Membership to IAAP](https://allyant.com/blog/allyants-platinum-level-membership-to-iaap/): Allyant announces platinum-level membership to the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) to support commitment to global accessibility inclusion November... - [Knowledge is power. How to personally validate whether or not your online documents are accessible.](https://allyant.com/blog/knowledge-is-power-how-to-personally-validate-whether-or-not-your-online-documents-are-accessible/): Can you be assured all the content on your website is accessible to people with disabilities—including those with visual impairments?... - [How Do You Check If A PDF Is Accessible?](https://allyant.com/blog/how-do-you-check-if-a-pdf-is-accessible/): To check if a PDF document is accessible, you need software like CommonLook’s PDF Validator, which tests the PDF against... - [Allyant Celebrates the 10th Anniversary of Unified English Braille](https://allyant.com/blog/what-does-ueb-mean-braille-which-countries-why-created/): Unified English Braille, also known as UEB, is a braille code designed by the International Council on English Braille (ICEB).... - [How Does Accessibility Work in PDFs?](https://allyant.com/blog/how-does-accessibility-work-in-pdfs/): PDF accessibility is a component of the overall document accessibility of a website or other digital assets. We know that... - [Accessible Textbooks for Students with Visual Impairments—How Educators Can Flip the Script on Speed and Quality](https://allyant.com/blog/accessible-textbooks-for-students-with-visual-impairments-how-educators-can-flip-the-script-on-speed-and-quality/): If you’re in the education sector, you know that time is of the essence when it comes to producing textbooks... - [Using CommonLook PDF Validator to Test Documents](https://allyant.com/blog/using-commonlook-pdf-validator-to-test-documents/): You have converted your document into a PDF. It is tagged, yet you still need to know if it is... - [Refreshable Braille Display: Types of RBD, How it Works and Why it Matters in Web Design](https://allyant.com/blog/refreshable-braille-display-types-of-rbd-how-it-works-and-why-it-matters-in-web-design/): Digital accessibility is about ensuring your online content can be accessed by as many people as possible—including those who use... - [What Is A PDF Accessibility Checker? What Does It Do?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-a-pdf-accessibility-checker-what-does-it-do/): A PDF accessibility checker is a digital tool that checks whether a PDF document is accessible (readable) to everyone, including... - [The Human Experience of Accessibility – Story #1](https://allyant.com/blog/the-human-experience-of-accessibility-browsing-the-web-vision-impaired/): As an executive working for an accessibility solutions provider, I get to peer beneath the proverbial hoods of many businesses—meaning... - [Thompson Street Capital Partners announces launch of Allyant—the world’s first comprehensive accessibility solutions company](https://allyant.com/blog/thompson-street-capital-partners-announces-launch-of-allyant-the-worlds-first-comprehensive-accessibility-solutions-company/): St. Louis – August 15, 2022 – Thompson Street Capital Partners (TSCP), a private equity firm based in St. Louis, today... - [Is Google Maps Accessible?](https://allyant.com/blog/is-google-maps-accessible/): For years, Google Maps has been the predominant navigational tool. Since Google Maps (and maps generally) are visual by nature, they are... - [Join us in celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) 2022](https://allyant.com/blog/join-us-in-celebrating-global-accessibility-awareness-day-gaad-2022-2/): As the CEO of a group of companies that specialize solely in accessibility solutions, I can say with pride and... - [T-Base Communications and RevSpring Announce Joint Partnership to Deliver Accessible Digital and Print Consumer Engagement for Healthcare and Financial Services Markets](https://allyant.com/blog/t-base-communications-and-revspring-announce-joint-partnership-to-deliver-accessible-digital-and-print-consumer-engagement-for-healthcare-and-financial-services-markets/): T-Base Communications, the leading global provider of technology-enabled digital and print accessibility solutions, announced today that it has partnered with... - [A Bright New Future for the World of Accessibility](https://allyant.com/blog/a-bright-new-future-for-the-world-of-accessibility/): T-Base Communications • Accessible360 • CommonLook As you may know, T-Base Communications has been at the forefront of document accessibility... - [CommonLook is now part of T-Base Communications](https://allyant.com/blog/commonlook-is-now-part-of-t-base-communications/): CommonLook is happy to announce that they are now part of T-Base Communications. Read the full press release here. After... - [Colorado Enacts Law for Web Accessibility](https://allyant.com/blog/colorado-enacts-law-for-web-accessibility/): For many years, federal government agencies have been required by Section 508 Compliance to provide equitable access to digital technology.... - [Making Videos Accessible to All](https://allyant.com/blog/making-videos-accessible-to-all/): Video has long been a great medium to convey content in more expressive and imaginative ways than text or imagery... - [The National Federation of the Blind Cracks Down on Accessibility Overlay Tools](https://allyant.com/blog/the-national-federation-of-the-blind-cracks-down-on-accessibility-overlay-tools/): We would all like to find a quick fix for many things in life. Regarding digital accessibility for your website... - [Celebrating the 31st Anniversary of the ADA](https://allyant.com/blog/celebrating-the-31st-anniversary-of-the-ada/): July 26 marks the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA was enacted in 1990 to... - [PDF Accessibility Remediation Software Tools: A Detailed Comparison](https://allyant.com/blog/pdf-accessibility-remediation-software-tools-review-detailed-comparison/): For many years, there have only been two tools for PDF remediation for accessibility available in the market. Adobe Acrobat... - [T-Base Communications and W.W. Norton & Company Partner to Offer Braille, Large Print and Accessible PDF Versions of Textbooks in Braille](https://allyant.com/blog/t-base-communications-and-w-w-norton-company-partner-to-offer-braille-large-print-and-accessible-pdf-versions-of-textbooks-in-braille/): This partnership benefits students who are blind or have low vision, by ensuring that they have more timely access to... - [accessible-slick: A new accessible carousel library](https://allyant.com/blog/accessible-slick-a-new-accessible-carousel-library/): Here at Allyant, we see a lot of carousels and sliders, and we’ve learned a thing or two about making... - [T-Base Communications and Accessible360 Announce Partnership](https://allyant.com/blog/t-base-communications-and-accessible360-announce-partnership/): T-Base Communications (T-Base), a leader in accessible communications, has acquired rapidly growing digital accessibility provider Accessible360 (A360). Combining T-Base’s highly... - [What is a Tagged PDF?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-a-tagged-pdf-definition-meaning-explanation/): A tagged PDF is a PDF document that contains tags. Tags provide a logical structure that governs how the content... - [How to Tag Footnotes and Endnotes in PDF](https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-tag-footnotes-and-endnotes-in-pdf/): A question that often comes up in our PDF remediation classes is, “how do you tag footnotes or endnotes? ”... - [T-Base Communications partners with OpenText to deliver high volume accessible PDF service](https://allyant.com/blog/t-base-communications-partners-with-opentext-to-deliver-high-volume-accessible-pdf-service/): Today T-Base Communications, the industry leader in accessible communications, announced they have partnered with OpenText, a global leader in information... - [Google is Releasing a Powerful Accessibility Feature for All Chrome Users](https://allyant.com/blog/google-chrome-new-accessibility-feature-launched-commonlook-expertise/): Two years ago, Google reached out to CommonLook because of our expertise in PDF accessibility. At the time, we recognized... - [Accessibility Overlay Tools May Seem Like A “Quick Fix” For Your Problem – but read further…](https://allyant.com/blog/accessibility-overlay-tools-may-seem-like-a-quick-fix-for-your-problem-but-read-further/): What Is An Overlay Tool? Accessibility overlays, toolbars, and plugins are third-party widgets that attempt to automatically improve the accessibility... - [What is PDF Metadata: Everything You Need to Know](https://allyant.com/blog/pdf-metadata-definition-view-edit-change-remove-importance/): PDF metadata consists of information about the PDF document, which includes title of the PDF document, author, subject, keywords and... - [What Is An Accessible PDF?](https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-an-accessible-pdf-example-definition-meaning/): A PDF document is considered truly accessible if it can be used/accessed by all users, including people with disabilities. For... - [Closed Captioning Vs. Audio Descriptions](https://allyant.com/blog/closed-captioning-vs-audio-descriptions/): When creating videos, sometimes the most challenging thing is figuring out how to make them accessible to all audiences. To... - [What’s the Difference Between PDF and Accessible PDF?](https://allyant.com/blog/difference-between-pdf-and-accessible-pdf/): An accessible PDF is a PDF document that can be read and accessed by people with disabilities, primarily for the... - [T-Base Communications Partners with Pearson to Offer Braille and Large Print Versions of Textbooks](https://allyant.com/blog/t-base-communications-partners-with-pearson-to-offer-braille-and-large-print-versions-of-textbooks/): This innovative partnership benefits students who are blind or have low vision, to ensure that they have more timely access... - [WCAG 2.1 and PDF Accessibility](https://allyant.com/blog/wcag-2-1-and-pdf-accessibility/): In June 2018 the WCAG 2. 1 standard was released. It wasn’t intended to replace WCAG 2. 0and WCAG 2.... - [Tagging Lists in a PDF](https://allyant.com/blog/tagging-lists-in-a-pdf/): Tagging lists properly in a PDF is important. And sometimes it’s difficult. For example, when a screen reader finds an... - [Why PDF is a Superior Format over MS Word for Accessibility](https://allyant.com/blog/why-pdf-is-a-superior-format-over-ms-word-for-accessibility/): Our clients often ask why PDF is the recommended format for accessible content. Many times, clients will have files in... - [What’s In WCAG 2.1?](https://allyant.com/blog/whats-in-wcag-2-1/): The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has published the latest update to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines – WCAG 2. 1. Building off... - [Use Aria Label Screen Reader Text](https://allyant.com/blog/use-aria-label-screen-reader-text/): Every now and then a developer needs to include special content that should be seen by screen reader users, but... --- ## Events - [Accessing Higher Ground 2025](https://allyant.com/event/accessing-higher-ground-2025/): Join Allyant at Accessing Higher Ground, AHEAD’s accessible media, web and technology conference in Denver, Colorado, November 17-21, 2025. - [M-Enabling Summit 2025](https://allyant.com/event/m-enabling-summit-2025/): Join Allyant at this year’s M-Enabling Summit October 6-8 in Washington D. C. Visit our booth and sign up to... - [Disability:IN 2025](https://allyant.com/event/disabilityin-2025/): Join Allyant at this year’s Disability:IN, the global corporate disability inclusion event taking place July 14-17 in Orlando, Florida - [AHEAD 2025](https://allyant.com/event/ahead-2025/): Allyant will be attending the 48th Annual Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) Conference in Denver, Colorado from July... - [Digital Document Compliance for Texas Government: True Up, Catch Up, and Keep up with Title II and WCAG](https://allyant.com/event/digital-document-compliance-for-texas-government-true-up-catch-up-and-keep-up-with-title-ii-and-wcag-2/): Ensuring document accessibility compliance is crucial for Texas government agencies; however, navigating the requirements can be challenging. In partnership with... - [Navigating the European Accessibility Act](https://allyant.com/event/navigating-the-european-accessibility-act-2/): In this webinar, Allyant’s accessibility experts will help to empower digital agencies to confidently navigate EAA requirements and deliver accessible,... - [Intro to CommonLook PDF - Simplified Editor](https://allyant.com/event/introduction-to-commonlook-online-v2-2/2025-02-26/): This 90-minute, live, webinar-based training will provide a foundation for new users of the CommonLook PDF Simplified Editor to feel... - [CSUN 2025](https://allyant.com/event/csun-2025-2/): 40th Annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference Booth #703 The annual CSUN Conference has been the foremost forum on technology for... - [European Accessibility Act Compliance for Digital Documents](https://allyant.com/event/european-accessibility-act-compliance-for-digital-documents/): Don’t let document accessibility slip through the cracks. Equip your team with the knowledge and tools to address EAA requirements... - [Accessible Statements: Navigating Compliance & Inclusion for Financial, Healthcare, & Telecom Sectors](https://allyant.com/event/accessible-statements-navigating-compliance-inclusion-for-financial-healthcare-telecom-sectors-2/): Learn how Allyant's print solutions can help deliver statements into formats like Braille and reflowed large print, e-text, audio, and... - [Ensuring Timely and Accessible Learning Materials in Education](https://allyant.com/event/ensuring-timely-and-accessible-learning-materials-in-education-2/): Discover the speed-quality trade-offs in education and gain actionable insights for creating an inclusive learning environment. A must-attend for educators... - [Unlocking the Impact of WCAG 2.2 on Electronic Documents](https://allyant.com/event/unlocking-the-impact-of-wcag-2-2-on-electronic-documents-2/): The session will provide practical compliance strategies, illustrated by real-world examples of successful implementations and common pitfalls to avoid. Whether... - [How to Fully Automate Accessibility in High-Volume Document Processing](https://allyant.com/event/how-to-fully-automate-accessibility-in-high-volume-document-processing-2/): Join us to understand how you can leverage cutting-edge automation to uphold your organization's commitment to accessibility, ensuring all your... - [Accessing Higher Ground](https://allyant.com/event/accessing-higher-ground-2/): Implementing an effective and scalable Accessibility Procurement Program Friday, November 15 at 10:15 am in Penrose 1 Speaker(s) Aaron Page,... - [M-Enabling - U.S. Federal Government Executive Briefing](https://allyant.com/event/m-enabling-u-s-federal-government-executive-briefing-2/): Engage with colleagues and trendsetters in digital accessibility and inclusion, gain insights on the latest trends, and be part of... - [Xplor International 2024](https://allyant.com/event/xplor-international-2024-2/): The two-and-a-half-day event will attract a cross section of end users, analysts, consultants, industry experts, and vendors dedicated to the... - [2024 AHEAD Equity and Excellence Conference](https://allyant.com/event/2024-ahead-equity-and-excellence-conference-2/): AHEAD is excited to announce its 47th annual conference, Equity & Excellence: Access in Higher Education, as an in-person professional... - [Disability:IN](https://allyant.com/event/disabilityin-2024-2/): The 2024 Disability:IN Annual Conference and Expo is the preeminent national event that taps into the vast economic potential of... - [CommonLook Training - Office Hours](https://allyant.com/event/commonlook-weekly-workshop-office-hours-2-2-2/2024-06-14/): About this class: Join us for a live, “office-hours,” workshop where an Allyant Trainer will be available to answer your... - [Understanding the HHS Rule on Accessibility](https://allyant.com/event/understanding-the-hhs-rule-on-accessibility/): In a significant move to address longstanding challenges faced by individuals with disabilities, the U. S. Department of Health and... - [Marketplace Risk](https://allyant.com/event/marketplace-risk-2/): Every business has risk. Identifying and mitigating risk determines success vs failure especially for innovative and disruptive marketplaces and digital... - [DSF'24](https://allyant.com/event/dsf24/): DSF ’24 Boston will feature 10 dedicated Learning Pods with a focus on Evolution of AI, Charting CCM Maturity, 4th... - [Intro to CommonLook Office](https://allyant.com/event/test-introduction-to-commonlook-office-in-microsoft-word-free/2024-05-01/): This 90-minute, live, webinar-based training will provide a foundation for new CommonLook Office users to feel comfortable and successful using... - [CommonLook Installation Training](https://allyant.com/event/commonlook-installation-training/2024-04-17/): Join us for a live, step-by-step guide on installing the CommonLook Software Suite! A Support Specialist will also be available... - [Introduction to CommonLook Office in Microsoft PowerPoint (free)](https://allyant.com/event/introduction-to-commonlook-office-in-microsoft-powerpoint-free/2024-06-05/): This 90-minute, live, webinar-based training will provide a foundation for new CommonLook Office users to feel comfortable and successful using... - [Achieve Accessibility Excellence in all your Communications: Digital, Document, and Print](https://allyant.com/event/achieve-accessibility-excellence-in-all-your-communications-digital-document-and-print/): Date: May 16, 2024 Time: 1:00 p. m. EST Join us for an illuminating webinar as we celebrate GAAD’s anniversary... - [Guiding State & Local Governments Through the 2024 DOJ Accessibility Regulations](https://allyant.com/event/guiding-state-local-governments-through-the-2024-doj-accessibility-regulations/): The recent announcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) has left many state and local government officials grappling with the... - [ProcureEnsure: Simple, Accessible Procurement](https://allyant.com/event/procureensure-simple-accessible-procurement-2/): Are you a procurement professional struggling to balance efficiency and accessibility while deploying accessible solutions for your organization? You’re not... - [CSUN 2024](https://allyant.com/event/csun-2024/): 39th Annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference Booth #610 & Platinum Suite #3 The annual CSUN Conference has been the foremost... - [Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Images & Graphics](https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-images-and-graphics-2/2024-04-11/): Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF – Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for... - [Unlocking Accessibility: A Roadmap for Digital Document Inclusivity](https://allyant.com/event/unlocking-accessibility-a-roadmap-for-digital-document-inclusivity-2/): In today’s digital landscape, organizations face a pervasive yet often underestimated challenge: ensuring the accessibility of their digital documents. These... - [GOVIT Symposium](https://allyant.com/event/govit-symposium-2/): The 2023 GOVIT Symposium is an easy way to step off the island and join other leaders, technologists, and business... - [Xplor International 2023](https://allyant.com/event/xplor-international-2023-2/): This two-and-a-half-day event brings together end users, analysts, consultants, industry experts, and vendors dedicated to the education, evolution, and success... - [How to Leverage Allyant's FREE ProcureEnsure Software Assessment Service](https://allyant.com/event/how-to-leverage-allyants-free-procureensure-software-assessment-service-2/): In the ever-evolving landscape of educational technology, ensuring software accessibility for all students is a paramount responsibility for procurement professionals... - [WCAG 2.2 Guidelines for Mobile, Web, and Beyond](https://allyant.com/event/wcag-2-2-guidelines-for-mobile-web-and-beyond-2/): In a digital age where the internet is a central part of our lives, the importance of web accessibility cannot... - [Understanding VPATs | Ensuring Accessibility Compliance in Today's Procurement Landscape](https://allyant.com/event/understanding-vpats-ensuring-accessibility-compliance-in-todays-procurement-landscape-2/): In today’s digitally-driven world, accessibility is no longer an option—it’s a necessity. Government entities, government-funded agencies, and commercial enterprises have... - [M-Enabling - U.S. Federal Government Executive Briefing](https://allyant.com/event/m-enabling-u-s-federal-government-executive-briefing-3/): The Executive Briefing sessions will provide a comprehensive review of the current evolution of digital accessibility policies and programs for... - [2023 AHEAD Equity and Excellence Conference](https://allyant.com/event/2023-ahead-equity-and-excellence-conference/): AHEAD is excited to announce its 46th annual conference, Equity & Excellence: Access in Higher Education, as an in-person professional... - [GAAD 2023 Webinar: The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Accessibility](https://allyant.com/event/the-future-of-artificial-intelligence-in-accessibility/): In celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), we are offering a free webinar on AI and accessibility. How intelligent... - [Disability:IN](https://allyant.com/event/disabilityin/): Booth: 203 Disability:IN Conference is a must-attend event for business leaders, diversity and inclusion professionals, advocates, and individuals with disabilities... - [M-Enabling](https://allyant.com/event/m-enabling-2/): Join advocates, corporations, government agencies, academia, and accessibility executives at the 11th M-Enabling Summit, the leading all-inclusive conference and showcase... - [Why Accessibility is key to Digital Engagement](https://allyant.com/event/why-accessibility-is-key-to-digital-engagement/): This webinar covers the current business and consumer trends driving the need for Accessibility. Discussed will be the impacts of... - [Why Accessibility Is Key to Your Digital Strategy](https://allyant.com/event/why-accessibility-is-key-to-your-digital-strategy/): We have a speaking session in the Document Strategy Forum on May 22, 2023. Michael Lambert, Senior Account Executive at... - [Intro to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor](https://allyant.com/event/introduction-to-commonlook-pdf/2023-04-07/): This 3-hour, live, webinar-based training will provide a foundation for new CommonLook PDF – Desktop & Advanced Editor users to... - [Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Footnotes & Endnotes](https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-footnotes-endnotes-2/2023-07-13/): Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF – Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for... - [Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Forms](https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-forms/2023-06-22/): Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF – Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for... - [Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Tables of Contents](https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-tocs/2023-06-08/): Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF- Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for more... - [Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Advanced Concepts](https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-advanced-concepts/2023-05-25/): Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF – Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for... - [Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Links](https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-links/2023-05-11/): Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF – Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for... - [Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Lists](https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-lists/2023-04-27/): Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF – Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for... - [Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Tables](https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-tables/2023-04-13/): Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF – Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for... - [Including Accessibility in Your Digital Transformation Strategy](https://allyant.com/event/including-accessibility-in-your-digital-transformation-strategy/): As technology continues to evolve, people with disabilities are accessing content in new and exciting ways. However, along with this... - [How to Successfully Prepare for a Digital Accessibility Audit](https://allyant.com/event/how-to-successfully-prepare-for-a-digital-accessibility-audit/): As the digital world evolves, access to information through websites, mobile apps, and portals more than ever represents a significant... - [CSUN 2023](https://allyant.com/event/csun-2023/): 38th Annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference Booth 209 The annual CSUN Conference has been the foremost forum on technology for... - [M-Enabling Summit](https://allyant.com/event/m-enabling-summit/): Digital Inclusion: Strategies for Equal Opportunities Attracting leading advocates, corporate executives and accessibility professionals involved in digital inclusion, the M-Enabling... - [Colorado Digital Government Summit](https://allyant.com/event/colorado-digital-government-summit/): Government Technology’s passion is promoting best practices and spurring innovation in the public sector – more important than ever in... - [California Digital Government Summit](https://allyant.com/event/california-digital-government-summit/): Government Technology’s passion is promoting best practices and spurring innovation in the public sector – more important than ever in... - [XPLOR22 Conference](https://allyant.com/event/xplor22/): About XPLOR22 XPLOR22 is September 13-15, 2022, at the beautiful TradeWinds Island Grand Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida. The... --- ## Careers - [People Services Coordinator:  Contract; Hybrid, Canada](https://allyant.com/careers/people-services-coordinator-2/): Hybrid/Location: Ottawa Reports to: VP, People Services Schedule / Shift: Monday – Friday or Monday – Thursday; Day Hours; 20... --- ## Resources - [Championing Accessibility 1-on-1 with Ben Ogilvie](https://allyant.com/resources/championing-accessibility-1-on-1-with-ben-ogilvie-2/): Championing Accessibility 1-on-1 with Ben Ogilvie In 2009 I was working for Apple, and my dad was training for a... - [Navigating the European Accessibility Act](https://allyant.com/resources/navigating-the-european-accessibility-act/): In this webinar, Allyant's accessibility experts will help to empower digital agencies to confidently navigate EAA requirements and deliver accessible,... - [The Importance of Accessible Website Design Review](https://allyant.com/resources/the-importance-of-accessible-website-design-review/): A website's design is crucial, not only for aesthetics but also for ensuring accessibility to users of all abilities. --- # # Detailed Content ## Pages ### CommonLook PDF - Published: 2025-06-03 - Modified: 2025-06-06 - URL: https://allyant.com/pdf-accessibility-software-solutions/commonlook-pdf-bakold/ CommonLook PDF: PDF Accessibility Software Simple. Smart. Scalable. https://youtu. be/rIiVasT96zk Conformance and Compliance Validation. CommonLook PDF supports multiple accessibility standards, including PDF/UA, WCAG, and HHS to ensure your organization complies with laws like Section 508, ADA Title II, EAA, and others. And each accessible PDF comes with a unique Validation Report, downloadable at any time, capturing document information; the number of passed, failed, and warning issues; and detailed results. --- ### 2024 Forced Labour and Child Labour Report - Published: 2025-05-30 - Modified: 2025-05-30 - URL: https://allyant.com/2024-forced-labour-and-child-labour-report/ 2024 Forced Labour and Child Labour Report This Forced Labour and Child Labour Report (the “Report”) addresses the period from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 (the “Reporting Period”) and has been prepared in compliance with the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (Canada)(the “Act”). This Report is made on behalf of T-Base Communications L. P. doing business as Allyant (“Allyant” or the “Company”). 1. Introduction Forced labour and child labour, each as defined in the Act, are crimes and serious violations of human rights. As a multi-national provider of accessibility solutions and services to some of the most recognized entities in Government, Financial Services, eCommerce, Healthcare, Technology, and Education, Allyant recognizes the important role it has to ensure its activities, which are predominately in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Ogdensburg, New York, United States and Cairo, Egypt, and the supply chain that support Allyant’s provisioning of accessibility solutions and services, adhere to the highest ethical standards, including the prevention and identification of forced labour and child labour in its supply chain. Allyant expects its business partners and suppliers (as well as their contractors, agents, subcontractors, sub-agents and labour agencies) to uphold these same principles within their operations and adhere to applicable human rights and employment standards laws. Allyant is committed to maintaining high ethical and legal standards and strives to comply with both the letter and spirit of all applicable laws and regulations. Allyant seeks to maintain effective business controls and to maintain a robust... --- ### CMS Platform Partner Program  - Published: 2025-05-01 - Modified: 2025-05-08 - URL: https://allyant.com/accessible-cms-platform-partner-program/ CivicPlus is partnered with Allyant because they’re the market leader in PDF accessibility.  We want to bring the best solution to our local government clients, and Allyant has the most complete DIY and full-service solutions for local government accessibility needs.   Don Torres, Director of Partnerships, CivicPlus --- ### PDF Accessibility Software Suite - Published: 2025-04-29 - Modified: 2025-05-22 - URL: https://allyant.com/pdf-accessibility-software-solutions/ Efficiency Meets Accessibility. PDF accessibility doesn’t have to be complex or costly. CommonLook PDF streamlines compliance, empowers users, and supports long-term accessibility success.   --- ### PDF Accessibility Testing and Monitoring - Published: 2025-04-29 - Modified: 2025-05-22 - URL: https://allyant.com/pdf-accessibility-testing-monitoring/ Scanning is Just the Start. PDF accessibility scanning and testing will help you understand the scope of the problem, but to meet compliance requirements, remediation is the critical next step. And there are two ways you can tackle PDF accessibility: let us do the work for you, or use our industry-leading CommonLook PDF software to do the work yourself. Remediate Yourself Manage the accessibility of your PDFs as you go with our industry-leading CommonLook software. --- ### Download: PDF Validator - Published: 2025-04-10 - Modified: 2025-05-20 - URL: https://allyant.com/free-pdf-accessibility-checker-validator/ And CommonLook PDF Validator is more than automated scanning. It will guide you through manual testing, giving you the confidence to meet the most stringent accessibility standards, like WCAG or PDF/UA, providing a certification report for each tested document. --- ### Digital Agency Partner Program - Published: 2024-08-16 - Modified: 2025-05-08 - URL: https://allyant.com/digital-agency-partner-program/ Our Agency Partners. --- ### ESG Principles - Published: 2024-07-16 - Modified: 2024-07-16 - URL: https://allyant.com/esg-principles/ Environmental, Social, & Governance Principles At Allyant, we are committed to advancing Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) principles in all aspects of our business for the benefit of our team members, customers, investors, and communities. Our company's Guiding Principles are the key components we identify and strive to have all customers meet as we maintain a professional relationship. Guiding Principles Wellness and Safety: Ensure proper labor and working conditions to safeguard the health and safety of our Company’s team members. Inclusivity: Encourage a culture of meritocracy, fairness, inclusivity, and transparency. Trust and Responsibility: Promote candor, integrity, fairness, empathy, and respect in all of our business practices. Privacy and Cybersecurity: Protect the privacy of our clients, team members, and corporate information through our technology policies. Transparency: Provide stakeholders with well-defined and transparent information regarding ESG risks. Protecting Our Planet: Promote awareness and continuously improve the environmental responsibility and energy efficiency in our team and practices. Social and Community Empowerment: Promote the development of our team and our communities. We focus on job training and opportunity, access to professional development, protecting our health and environment, and improving the communities in which we live and work. --- ### 2023 Forced Labour and Child Labour Report - Published: 2024-06-03 - Modified: 2025-05-30 - URL: https://allyant.com/2023-forced-labour-and-child-labour-report/ 2023 Forced Labour and Child Labour Report This Forced Labour and Child Labour Report (the “Report”) addresses the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 (the “Reporting Period”) and has been prepared in compliance with the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (Canada)(the “Act”). This Report is made on behalf of T-Base Communications L. P. doing business as Allyant (“Allyant” or the “Company”). 1. Introduction Forced labour and child labour, each as defined in the Act, are crimes and serious violations of human rights. As a multi-national provider of accessibility solutions and services to some of the most recognized entities in Government, Financial Services, eCommerce, Healthcare, Technology, and Education, Allyant recognizes the important role it has to ensure its activities, which are predominately in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Ogdensburg, New York, United States and Cairo, Egypt, and the supply chain that support Allyant’s provisioning of accessibility solutions and services, adhere to the highest ethical standards, including the prevention and identification of forced labour and child labour in its supply chain. Allyant expects its business partners and suppliers (as well as their contractors, agents, subcontractors, sub-agents and labour agencies) to uphold these same principles within their operations and adhere to applicable human rights and employment standards laws. Allyant is committed to maintaining high ethical and legal standards and strives to comply with both the letter and spirit of all applicable laws and regulations. Allyant seeks to maintain effective business controls and to maintain a robust... --- ### Managed Compliance Services - Published: 2024-01-24 - Modified: 2025-05-20 - URL: https://allyant.com/managed-compliance-services/ Live-User Monitoring: Our live-user monitoring goes beyond the initial audit, ensuring regular review of ongoing content edits or website changes to maintain compliance.   Continual Automated Scanning: With our advanced automated scanning tools, we perform regular assessments of accessibility compliance. These tools detect new issues or potential risks that may emerge over time.   QA Testing of New Issues: We conduct rigorous Quality Assurance (QA) testing of any new issues that may arise through development cycles or updates.   Project Roadmaps: Our customized project roadmaps provide a structured approach to guide your accessibility initiatives systematically. These roadmaps outline the steps and timelines necessary to address accessibility concerns. Updated VPATs + Letters of Conformance: We offer updated Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs) and Letters of Conformance to showcase your ongoing commitment to accessibility.   Litigation Support: In the unfortunate event of legal challenges related to accessibility, our team provides comprehensive support. We offer real-time legal advice, expert testimony, and assistance in resolving accessibility-related legal matters. Continual Training: Our ongoing training programs cover best practices in accessibility, compliance guidelines, and the latest developments in accessibility standards.   Always-on Help Desk: Whether it's a quick query or a more complex issue, we are available 24/7 to address any accessibility-related questions or concerns promptly. Dedicated Customer Support Manager: Each client benefits from a dedicated Customer Support Manager, your single contact point who coordinates all aspects of your engagement with Allyant. This experienced professional understands your digital process and influences your accessibility roadmap and project plans. Ongoing Access to the Allyant Badge: As a client... --- ### PDF Document Solutions - Published: 2024-01-24 - Modified: 2025-06-03 - URL: https://allyant.com/pdf-accessibility-software-and-services/ Leading Brands Put Their Trust in Allyant. --- ### Transcript for “WCAG 2.2 Guidelines” Webinar - Published: 2023-11-06 - Modified: 2023-11-06 - URL: https://allyant.com/transcript-for-wcag-2-2-guidelines-webinar/ Transcript for “WCAG 2 2 Guidelines for Mobile, Web, and Beyond” Webinar Transcript with Audio Description (DESCRIPTION) Slides. (SPEECH) Hi, everybody. Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to talk with you today. My name is Aaron Page. I am director of accessibility here at Allyant. It's (DESCRIPTION) Slide. (SPEECH) very much a pleasure to talk with you today about the newest version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG 2. 2. Just a little quick background on myself. I am director of accessibility. I started out here at Allyant as a native screen reader auditor. I myself am blind. I was born with congenital glaucoma, lost my remaining functional vision about 15 or so years ago now. Been working in the digital accessibility space for 10 years, the last five of which have been here at Allyant. And as I said, started off as one of our native screen reader auditors. As you might expect, we conduct our audits in teams of 2 with a live screen reader user along with a sighted auditor to really get that full assessment of a website's accessibility. So today, we're going to talk about the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2. 2. And we're going to give a little bit of background for those of you who are new to WCAG, just on what WCAG is, a light little understanding of the history of it, how it's organized before we dive in to the specific new updates that were rolled out in... --- ### Transcript for “Understanding VPATs | Ensuring Accessibility Compliance” Webinar - Published: 2023-10-30 - Modified: 2023-10-30 - URL: https://allyant.com/transcript-for-understanding-vpats-ensuring-accessibility-compliance-webinar/ Transcript for “Understanding VPATs | Ensuring Accessibility Compliance” Webinar Transcript with Audio Description (SPEECH) Starters, obviously, really appreciate everybody jumping on. I'm sure people will continue to trickle in, and I'll go through some webinar housekeeping, as far as recording and distributing the recording as well. So obviously, if you have to jump, don't feel like you're going to miss it, because we will distribute it after the call. I kind of wanted to just say hi to everybody. I'm then going to turn my camera off, because I'm going to be looking at questions on one screen, my presentation on the other. So I don't want you to be distracted by me looking all over the place like I'm distracted. I promise I'm not. So with that, I will kick things off on today's webinar. Really, I think, important to just give a very 100,000 foot overview on Allyant Again, both Aaron and I and will give some introductions on the next slide. Really appreciate everybody taking time out of their busy days today to jump on our webinar. Snapshot of Allyant just to paint the picture of who we are if you do or don't know us. We are a global leader in accessibility solutions. We really have a trifecta of solutions that we offer across customer communications to our clients and prospective clients. Obviously, we do web and digital accessibility. That's what we're talking about today. And our VPATs play into that role. We also have a... --- ### Is CommonLook PDF Crashing? - Published: 2023-08-22 - Modified: 2023-08-22 - URL: https://allyant.com/commonlook-accessibility-suite/commonlook-pdf-crashing/ Step 1 Uninstall CommonLook PDF Installation Instructions Step 2 Turn Off Protected Mode in Acrobat In Acrobat, navigate to Edit (in the toolbar) Choose Preferences In the left side of the Preferences dialog box, select Security (Enhanced) In the Sandbox Protections, uncheck “Enable Protected Mode at startup” In “Protected View,” choose the “Off” radio button (Please note the screenshot below if needed. ) Press OK and close out of Acrobat. Then re-open the PDF and CommonLook PDF. Step 3 Reinstall CommonLook PDF --- ### Transcript for “Including Accessibility in Your Digital Transformation Strategy” Webinar - Published: 2023-04-03 - Modified: 2023-07-20 - URL: https://allyant.com/transcript-for-bcbs-webinar-apr-2023/ Transcript for BCBS Webinar April 2023 Transcript with Audio Description (SPEECH) So welcome, everybody, to our discussion today on including accessibility in your digital transformation strategy. (DESCRIPTION) Slide. (SPEECH) Just a little housekeeping before we get rolling into this, if there are questions, please include your questions in the chat box. And at the end of the presentation, we've carved out some time to answer questions and to answer anything that you ask. So for today, I'm David Herr. I'm the Vice President of Enterprise Solutions here at Allyant. I've worked in-- after a long career that I hate to say how long it was-- in IT, I now have worked in accessibility now for going on 12 years. So, well-versed in document accessibility and web accessibility, and I'm excited to be talking to you today. And I have with me Michael Lambert, who works also in our Enterprise Solutions side of the business. And Michael brings to us a wealth of print experience in addition to IT. So he understands the print industry and the whole where technology is going as stuff transitions from print and mail into the now digital world that we see today. So today, we'll be your presenters, and we look forward to your questions as we present the material. (DESCRIPTION) Video call. (SPEECH) And of course, Dave's camera crapped out right before we started the session. So-- --I will be the face. I will be the face of the presentation today. So-- Exactly. We'll... --- ### CommonLook PDF Validator User Guide - Published: 2022-12-09 - Modified: 2023-04-04 - URL: https://allyant.com/commonlook-accessibility-suite/commonlook-pdf-validator-user-guide/ Opening the CommonLook PDF Validator Open a PDF in Adobe Acrobat. In the toolbar at the top of the Acrobat window, choose Plug-Ins, then CommonLook, and then CommonLook PDF Validator. If the document is tagged, the CommonLook PDF Validator will open and allow you to test for compliance (skip to step 3 below). If the document is not tagged, a message will pop up telling you the document is not tagged and asking you to add tags in Acrobat before using the Validator. Note: To add tags to a PDF, follow these steps: Open the untagged PDF. Select the Tag icon in the navigation pane (on the left side of the application window). (Or, in the Acrobat toolbar navigate to “View” then “Show/Hide,” then to “Navigation Panes” and select “Tags. ”) In the Tags panel, right-click/ open the context menu on “No Tags available,” Choose “Add Tags to Document,” Save. When the CommonLook Validator opens, the Tags tree will be displayed on the left side of the screen, the Physical View of the document will be displayed in the middle, and the Standards and Properties panels will be shown on the right. Pro Tip #1: The Checkpoint Configuration panel may be open as well. Unless you’re going to change the checkpoints in the standards that you’re going to test the PDF against, you can close that panel. The easiest way to do that is by navigating to the ribbon of the Windows tab and choosing “Reset Panels Location. ”. Pro... --- ### PDF Validator Installation - Published: 2022-12-09 - Modified: 2023-10-03 - URL: https://allyant.com/commonlook-accessibility-suite/pdf-validator-installation/ Install the CommonLook PDF Validator Install the CommonLook PDF Validator Important note: The CommonLook PDF Validator supports both the 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Adobe Acrobat. Make sure you are downloading and installing the bit version of the PDF Validator that matches your bit version of Acrobat (not necessarily the bit version of your machine)! Also note, the screenshots below show the installation steps using the 32 bit version of the CommonLook PDF Validator. The installation will be exactly the same for the 64 bit version except that the dialog boxes will show “(64 bit). ” Uninstall the previous version (if you have one) Run the CommonLookPDFValidator. exe. If you don’t have it download the: 32 bit version 64 bit version Read Agree Install Allow Changes – Choose “Yes” “Next” Folder Location – Choose “Next” Install Completed! Close An Important Note About Protected Mode in Acrobat: Due to a somewhat recent update and new setting in Adobe Acrobat, there is now a potential issue with running the CommonLook PDF Validator. The Protected Mode feature in Acrobat is still in “Preview” mode (i. e. , it is not an officially released feature) and still has some issues which we have been working with Adobe to identify and resolve. In response to these issues, Protected Mode is no longer enabled by default in Acrobat. We expect that Adobe will resolve these issues prior to the official release of Protected Mode. To address this, please turn Protected Mode off by following... --- ### CL Accessibility Suite - Self-Paced Training - Published: 2022-12-09 - Modified: 2025-06-05 - URL: https://allyant.com/pdf-accessibility-software-training/cl-accessibility-suite-self-paced-training/ Training Modules CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor Modules CommonLook Office Modules --- ### CommonLook PDF (LANDING PAGE) - Published: 2022-12-08 - Modified: 2025-06-06 - URL: https://allyant.com/pdf-accessibility-software-solutions/commonlook-pdf/ CommonLook PDF: PDF Accessibility Software Simple. Smart. Scalable. https://www. youtube. com/watch? v=rIiVasT96zk Conformance and Compliance Validation. CommonLook PDF supports multiple accessibility standards, including PDF/UA, WCAG, and HHS to ensure your organization complies with laws like Section 508, ADA Title II, EAA, and others. And each accessible PDF comes with a unique Validation Report, downloadable at any time, capturing document information; the number of passed, failed, and warning issues; and detailed results. --- ### Allyant Support - Published: 2022-12-07 - Modified: 2025-02-07 - URL: https://allyant.com/support/ Allyant Support We're Here for You --- ### AODA Policy - Published: 2022-12-07 - Modified: 2022-12-08 - URL: https://allyant.com/aoda-policy/ AODA Policy Purpose and Scope The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) is a Provincial Legislation with the purpose of developing, implementing, and enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for persons with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodations, employment, buildings, structures, and premises on or before January 1, 2025. Ontario Regulation 429/07 entitled “Accessibility Standards for Customer Service” came in for on January 1, 2008. This regulation establishes accessibility standards specific to customer service for public sector organizations and other persons or organizations that provide goods or services to members of the public or other parties. This policy is in accordance with the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service Ontario Regulation 429/07 and addresses the following: The provision of goods or services to those with disabilitiesThe use of assistive devices by those with disabilitiesThe use of service animals by those with disabilitiesThe use of support persons by those with disabilitiesNotice of temporary disruptions in services or facilitiesStaff trainingCustomer feedback regarding the provision of goods or services to those with disabilitiesNotice of available and format of documents and meetings Policy Statement It is the policy of Allyant that its training, working, and service environments will be maintained free from discrimination and harassment as prohibited by the Ontario Human Rights Code (1962), and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (1995) (AODA). It is the Policy of Allyant that every individual has a right to equitable treatment with respect to employment, services, goods, facilities, and accommodation without... --- ### Accessibility Statement - Published: 2022-12-07 - Modified: 2024-06-07 - URL: https://allyant.com/accessibility-statement/ Allyant Accessibility Statement Goal of Being Better For All Allyant is in the business of improving accessibility. Our commitment starts here; we want everyone to successfully consume and interact with the content on our website. Actions Allyant is committed to increasing the accessibility of its website to ensure that persons with disabilities have full and equal enjoyment of the information and services provided on or through it. We are always looking for new ways to improve the accessibility of our website and to enhance the accessibility features we have already implemented. We’re proud of the work we have done so far, but we are driven to keep improving our website’s accessibility. AODA Accessibility Policy and Plan In compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (Ontario), our Accessibility Policy can be found here and our Multi-Year Accessibility Plan can be found here. If you have questions or wish to request a copy of our Accessibility Policy or Multi-Year Accessibility Plan (including in an alternate format), please contact us at the contact information below. Allyant's Commitment to Accessible Technology At Allyant, we are dedicated to the procurement of accessible Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). We strongly advocate for the Disability:IN Procure Access initiative, actively promoting the acquisition of accessible technologies. Our commitment to accessibility is demonstrated through tangible actions: Incorporating Accessibility Language: We integrate accessibility language into Statements of Work, Master Service Agreements, and other contractual documents, underscoring the significance of accessibility at all stages of technology procurement. Requesting Accessibility Documentation: We... --- ### Terms and Conditions - Published: 2022-12-07 - Modified: 2022-12-08 - URL: https://allyant.com/terms-and-conditions/ Allyant Terms and Conditions Your use of this website is subject to the following terms and conditions. By accessing this website, you acknowledge that you have read and do accept these terms and conditions. I. Using the Contents You may browse this website for information and educational purposes only. Allyant grants to you a limited non-exclusive license to view, copy and print the material on this website. All copies made must retain all copyright and other notices that are on this website. You may not use, distribute, modify, transmit, revise, reverse engineer, republish, post or create derivative works of the contents of this website without our prior written permission. The material specified above does not include the design or layout of this website. Elements of this website are protected by trade dress and other laws and may not be copied or imitated in whole or in part. Nothing shall be construed as granting you any license under any patent, trademark or copyright of Allyant, its affiliated entities or any third party. II. Rights and Disclaimers Allyant claims a copyright in all proprietary and copyrightable text, graphics and computer code on this website, the overall design of this site, and the selection, arrangement and presentation of all content, information, software and other material (“content”) on or available through the Allyant website, including information in the public domain. All such content is protected by copyright, trademark and other forms of proprietary rights. All right, title and interest in and to such content,... --- ### Accessible Statements - Published: 2022-12-07 - Modified: 2025-05-30 - URL: https://allyant.com/accessible-statements-production-services/ Our revolutionary and proprietary aDOCS platform seamlessly and securely integrates with customer-designated, customer-specific document repositories and automates the conversion of statements into alternative formats—ensuring you can deliver the documents your consumers need in the format they need it. --- ### Transcript for “How to Successfully Prepare for a Digital Accessibility Audit” Webinar - Published: 2022-11-23 - Modified: 2022-11-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/transcript-for-preparing-digital-accessibility-audit-webinar/ Transcript for “How to Successfully Prepare for a Digital Accessibility Audit” Webinar Transcript with Audio Description (DESCRIPTION) Text, Allyant. Simple. Seamless. Accessibility. How to Successfully Prepare for a Digital Accessibility Audit. (SPEECH) Hello, everyone, and welcome to this Allyant webinar. Today, we are going to be discussing how to successfully prepare for a digital accessibility audit. Now before we get started, I just want to let everyone know that please ask as many questions as you would like you can use the functionality within the tool. There is a chat program within this so please ask away. We will be getting to questions at the end of the webinar. So there will be a section to answer those. Also, just so everyone knows is that you will be receiving a recording of this event. So that way it will be on our website. There will also be a form on the site so that you can ask additional questions. I know if you're anything like me, I tend to completely forget what questions I want to ask until 20 minutes after the webinar. So we want to make sure that everybody is prepared to answer your questions at any given time. So you will have time to do that as well. So that's basically it. I am going to be your moderator. Send all the questions to me. We'll sort it out in the back end and then answer those. (DESCRIPTION) Slide, Today's Presenters, two pictures, with names and titles.... --- ### Privacy Policy - Published: 2022-10-14 - Modified: 2024-10-29 - URL: https://allyant.com/privacy-policy/ Allyant Privacy Policy Last Reviewed: October 29, 2024 Allyant and its affiliated companies1 (“Allyant,” “we,” “us,” “our”) are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy and personal information. We have created this Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) to explain how we collect, use, and disclose personal information (“Personal Information”) collected through our website and in the course of providing our products, software, and services (collectively, the “Services”), and your privacy rights. By visiting our website, including any subpages, (collectively, the “Website”), or by accessing and using our Services in any manner, you acknowledge and agree to our collection, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information in accordance with the practices and policies described in this Privacy Policy. I. COLLECTION AND USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION While using our Website and Services, we may ask you to provide us with certain Personal Information, including but not limited to: Personal Information We Collect From Our Customers. We may collect certain Personal Information from you, including but not limited to the following: (i) name; (ii) email address; (iii) phone number; (iv) company information; and (v) payment information. Personal Information Contained In Documents Provided To Us For Processing Via Our Services.   Our Services are generally designed to assess and remediate accessibility compliance issues in documents and digital properties.  Our expectation is that documents that you submit to us will be public-facing documents and will not contain any Personal Information (and will not contain any sensitive Personal Information such as personal health information or personal financial information).  Accordingly,... --- --- ## Posts ### Colorado's New Digital Accessibility Rules: What You Need to Know - Published: 2025-05-23 - Modified: 2025-05-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/colorados-new-digital-accessibility-rules-what-you-need-to-know/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, web accessibility Colorado is taking a bold, impactful step toward inclusion and equity with the adoption of comprehensive new digital accessibility rules enacted by the Colorado Office of Information Technology (OIT). These rules are a direct implementation of Colorado’s Accessibility Law, HB21-1110,and provide the detailed requirements and enforcement framework that make HB21-1110 actionable. The rules are designed to ensure that state and local governments—and the agencies, departments, and public entities they oversee—provide digital experiences that are fully accessible to people with disabilities. Requirements align with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2. 1 Levels A and AA, exceeding the WCAG 2. 0 standard required for compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The rules officially go into effect June 30, 2025.   In this blog post we explore the scope of these new rules, why they matter, who—and what—they apply to, and what you need to do to prepare.   Putting Law into Action Public entities across Colorado—including state agencies, municipalities, counties, and public institutions—are responsible for ensuring that their digital systems are accessible to individuals with disabilities. While HB21-1110 sets the legal mandate, these new OIT rules help organizations understand the parameters for meeting them, including:  Ensuring accessibility in all digital services from websites and mobile apps to electronic documents and procurement systems. Offering accommodations and alternative formats for users with disabilities—ensuring no one is excluded from accessing public information or services.   Adopting and publishing Accessibility Statements that clearly define how the public can request accommodations or report barriers.... --- ### Applying WCAG 2.2 to Mobile Apps: What the New W3C Guidance Means for Accessibility - Published: 2025-05-22 - Modified: 2025-05-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/applying-wcag-2-2-mobile-apps-new-w3c-guidance-meaning-for-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, wcag 2.2, web accessibility The W3C has published a long-anticipated Working Group Note: Applying WCAG 2. 2 to Mobile Applications. A Working Group Note is created to provide a stable reference for a document that is not intended to be a formal standard. However, this is a clarifying resource that addresses a long-standing challenge—how to interpret and apply Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2. 2 requirements to native mobile applications. In this blog post we dig more deeply into what this guidance means, what it does not mean, and why it is needed for mobile app designers and developers. What This Guidance Is Applying WCAG 2. 2 to Mobile Applications offers informative (non-normative) guidance on how WCAG 2. 2 principles, guidelines, and success criteria can be applied to mobile applications, including native mobile apps, mobile web apps, and hybrid apps using web components inside native mobile apps. Key highlights include: Comprehensive Coverage of WCAG 2. 2 Success Criteria: The guidance addresses the Level A and AA success criterion from WCAG 2. 2 which are applicable to mobile applications, providing context-specific guidance for each. This includes considerations for touch interactions, screen orientation, and mobile-specific user interface elements.   Interpretation of Web Terminology in Mobile Context: Recognizing that certain web terminologies may not directly translate to mobile environments, this guidance helps bridge the gap between web-based terminology used in WCAG (e. g. , “web page,” “set of web pages”) and the structure of mobile applications (e. g. , screens, views, dialogs) to ensure clarity and relevance.... --- ### Virginia Passes HB2541: A Milestone Achievement for Accessible Procurement - Published: 2025-05-01 - Modified: 2025-05-27 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/virginia-passes-hb2541-a-milestone-achievement-for-accessible-procurement/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, digital accessibility, hb2541, web accessibility On March 24, 2025, Virginia made a bold move by passing House Bill 2541 (HB2541), which is a sweeping update to the Commonwealth’s Information Technology Access Act. As a background, the Commonwealth’s Information Technology Act requires that all state and public institutions ensure their information and communication technology (ICT) is accessible to people with disabilities. HB2541 broadens the scope of this Act by, among other requirements, doubling down on accessible technology procurement. More details on the bill’s requirements will be provided in a moment. First, let’s recognize the significance of this milestone moment: The bill's passage means accessible procurement is not just another box to check. This bill signals that digital accessibility is a procurement requirement. The responsibility to create accessible software must be shared by the vendor who is making the software, rather than the buyer solely taking ownership and legal risk. In this blog, I break down the requirements of HB2541, who the bill applies to, deadlines for compliance, and why it matters. What Does HB2541 Enact? HB2541 modernizes Virginia’s approach to accessible technology by significantly expanding the scope of its Information Technology Access Act. The bill ensures that accessibility requirements apply to all individuals with disabilities, not just those who are blind or visually impaired. It also broadens the definition of ICT to include websites, applications, and other digital services. To verify compliance, HB2541 requires vendors to provide software Accessibility Conformance Reports (ACRs)—outlining the accurate state of product accessibility. The ACR is built on the Voluntary Product... --- ### What is Closed Captioning & Why is it Important for Accessibility? - Published: 2025-04-24 - Modified: 2025-05-27 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-closed-captioning-why-is-it-important-for-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, alternative format, video accessibility, web accessibility Proper captioning is essential for providing equitable digital access to everyone. Although primarily used by individuals with disabilities, captions can benefit anyone. This article will explore what captioning is, the difference between closed and open captioning, and why closed captioning, in particular, is crucial for accessibility. So, let’s dive in! What Does “Captioning” Mean? Captioning refers to the process of adding captions to videos. Captions are text representations of the audio in a video, including dialogue and noises), which are commonly displayed over the video, similar to subtitles. The captions should align with the dialogue and sounds in the video, ensuring correct spelling and appearing on screen approximately when the audio is delivered. Since captions serve as an accessibility feature, they must be easily accessible to those who need or prefer them. Closed vs. Open Captioning Captions have historically been classified as either “closed” or “open. ” Closed captioning allows users to toggle captions on and off and customize their styling (color, size, etc. ). In contrast, open captioning integrates captions directly into the video and cannot be turned off or styled in any way. Closed captioning has generally replaced open captioning, as closed captioning offers users more flexibility regarding whether to turn captions on or off and how they appear on screen. As a result, closed captioning has become practically synonymous with the general term "captions. " Why are Captions so Important? WCAG Success Criterion 1. 2. 2 requires that nearly all videos have captions. This criterion states that... --- ### Working with Colleagues with Disabilities: A Colleague’s Perspective - Published: 2025-04-17 - Modified: 2025-05-27 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/working-with-colleagues-with-disabilities-a-colleagues-perspective/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, assistive technology In the ever-evolving digital landscape, inclusivity transcends being just a buzzword—it is a shared responsibility. As a Project Support Manager at Allyant, I have had the privilege of working alongside colleagues with disabilities. This experience has not only deepened my understanding of accessibility but has also challenged and dismantled misconceptions about collaborating in an inclusive environment. I want to share key insights from this rewarding journey to inspire workplaces to embrace accessibility as an integral part of their operations. How a Supportive Team Drives Inclusion A supportive team is the cornerstone of an inclusive workplace. At Allyant, we’ve cultivated a culture that values collaboration, learning, and accommodation. Accessibility best practices are taught in a way that encourages receptiveness and understanding. Rather than presenting these practices as rigid rules, they’re framed as tools to enhance communication and effectiveness for everyone. This nurturing approach fosters an atmosphere where colleagues feel empowered to ask questions, share insights, and grow together. The key takeaway here? A supportive team isn’t just about compliance—it’s about fostering an environment of mutual respect and continuous learning. Streamlining Accessibility Through Proactive Processes One major misconception is that accommodating colleagues with disabilities is cumbersome. In reality, when effective processes consider accessibility from the outset, everyday tasks become much easier. For example: Accessible Digital Tools: The right digital tools, from screen readers to captioning software, ensure that everyone can participate fully. Accessibility Training: Regular training sessions equip team members with the knowledge to utilize these tools effectively and incorporate accessibility into... --- ### How Alternative Formats Help People with Visual Impairments Access Information - Published: 2025-04-10 - Modified: 2025-05-27 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-alternative-formats-help-people-with-visual-impairments-access-information/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, alt format, alternative format Accessing and reading information is a fundamental part of daily life, whether it’s a bank statement, a textbook, or a favorite novel. However, accessing this wealth of information can be challenging for people with visual impairments without specialized tools. Fortunately, alternative formats provide a variety of accessible solutions, helping those who are blind or visually impaired access the same content as sighted individuals. These formats include braille, large print, accessible PDFs, and audio, all designed to provide equal access to essential content. Beyond mere legal obligations, offering alternative formats reflects a commitment to human dignity, autonomy, and independence. What Are Alternative Formats? "Alternative formats" refers to any document or media adapted to accommodate people with disabilities, particularly visual impairments. These formats aim to ensure that everyone can access the same information meaningfully—regardless of their ability to see. Key alternative formats include: Braille: A tactile writing system used by people who are blind. Large Print: Documents with text size enlarged to accommodate those with low vision. Accessible PDFs: Digital documents formatted to be compatible with screen readers and other assistive technology. Audio: Content provided in spoken word, often through human narration or text-to-speech technology. Each of these formats serves a unique purpose, addressing the diverse needs of people with visual impairments. Read more: Alternative formats: A beginner's guide Braille: The Foundation of Accessible Literacy Braille is arguably the most recognized alternative format for the visually impaired. Developed in the early 19th century by Louis Braille, this system employs a series of... --- ### Which PDF Accessibility Standard Should I Check My Document Against? - Published: 2025-04-03 - Modified: 2025-03-25 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/which-pdf-accessibility-standard-should-i-check-my-document-against/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, pdf accessibility Once PDF remediation is complete, we must run a verification to check for accessibility. We do this to identify anything that might have been missed, any errors that may have been made, or, if you’re using CommonLook PDF, any steps that were intentionally skipped. Two types of verifications can be run. A “Structural” check will test the document for empty tags, broken links, and other issues. It also tests tables, links, tables of contents, and other tags to ensure that they have been assembled correctly, including their required nested tags. For example, the Structural check will verify that Table tags contain Table Row tags and that those tags then contain Table Data and/or Header cells.   An “Accessibility” check will test the document against one or more established accessibility standards: WCAG 2. 0AA, WCAG 2. 1AA, WCAG 2. 2AA, HHS, and PDF/UA.  These standards ensure that the content is readable and usable by everyone. We typically encourage our clients to check against at least one structural standard and one accessibility standard. While this is ideal to ensure the document meets best practices and requirements, many documents only technically need to meet one standard. The logical question then becomes, “Well, which standard should I choose? ” This is not always a cut-and-dry answer, but we can provide some general guidance. It sometimes depends on the industry, organization, client, or even the company's opinion. Structural Standards Currently, there is one structural standard available for PDFs. ISO 32000-1, which was released in 2008, provides... --- ### Understanding the Consistent Navigation Requirement in Web Accessibility - Published: 2025-03-27 - Modified: 2025-03-14 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/understanding-the-consistent-navigation-requirement-in-web-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, web accessibility One of the 4 core web accessibility principles outlined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is Understandable. Under this principle, the Consistent Navigation requirement ensures that websites and mobile applications are accessible and intuitive. Meeting this requirement not only enhances the user experience for individuals with disabilities but also improves the overall usability of the site. In this article, we will explore the nuances of the Consistent Navigation requirement, its benefits, and practical examples of its successful implementation across digital platforms. What is Consistent Navigation? The Consistent Navigation requirement mandates that navigational mechanisms, such as menus, links, and search functions, maintain the same relative order across a series of pages on a website or mobile app. This consistency in layout is key to providing a predictable user experience, which is particularly important for users with disabilities. It ensures that essential web features are easily located, regardless of the page a user is on. This requirement does not limit the use of sub-navigation menus or dynamic content; however, it mandates that primary navigation tools, such as "skip to main content" links and search bars, remain consistently placed. This predictability is a cornerstone of web accessibility, facilitating easier navigation for all users, including those with cognitive and visual impairments. Who Benefits from Consistent Navigation? The Consistent Navigation requirement especially benefits users with cognitive and intellectual disabilities. These users can gain from having essential website functions located consistently in the same area throughout a site. Users with cognitive and intellectual disabilities may... --- ### Best Practices to Ensure Hyperlink Accessibility: Ensuring Inclusive & Usable Links in Digital Media - Published: 2025-03-20 - Modified: 2025-05-07 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/best-practices-to-ensure-hyperlink-accessibility-ensuring-inclusive-usable-links-in-digital-media/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, alternative format, web accessibility Hyperlinks serve as the backbone of digital content, connecting users to additional resources, information, and services. Whether on a website, in a PDF, or within other digital documents, links must be accessible to everyone. This includes individuals utilizing assistive technologies like screen readers, those with mobility impairments, and people with low vision or color blindness. Creating accessible hyperlinks involves more than merely making them clickable. Their design, labeling, and structure can either enhance the user experience or create barriers. Clear link text, appropriate formatting, and visual distinction are essential elements that ensure digital content is inclusive and compliant with accessibility standards, such as WCAG 2. 2 and Section 508. Clear, Descriptive, & Concise Link Text The most fundamental principle of accessible hyperlinks is ensuring that link text conveys purpose and destination. Generic phrases like “Click here” or “Read more” provide little context for users navigating with screen readers since they often browse links separately from the surrounding text. Instead, link text should be specific and meaningful on its own. For example, rather than linking the phrase “Learn more,” a better approach would be to say “Learn more about accessible document design. ” At the same time, link text should remain concise—long, overly descriptive links can become cumbersome, especially when read aloud by assistive technologies. Another important consideration is avoiding redundant links. If multiple links direct users to the exact location, it introduces unnecessary repetition. Instead of having separate links for an icon and text directing to the same page, both... --- ### 6 DOJ-Approved Screen Readers - Published: 2025-03-13 - Modified: 2025-03-14 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/6-doj-approved-screen-readers/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, pdf accessibility, screen reader, web accessibility Screen readers are essential to web accessibility, and screen reader testing is a significant portion of our work at Allyant. While many screen reading devices are on the market, some are more widely used. This blog post will examine the most commonly used screen readers, according to the WebAIM 2024 Screen Reader User Survey. JAWS According to the WebAIM survey, JAWS (Job Access With Speech) is the most widely used screen reader. 40. 5% of survey respondents said they use JAWS as their primary desktop or laptop screen reader. JAWS, which requires a fee, has more configuration options than other popular screen readers. These options allow screen reader users to customize JAWS more than others. JAWS does have a learning curve, partly because of its configuration options. JAWS is designed to be used on a Windows PC platform (Windows is by far the preferred operating system to use with a screen reader, as 86% of survey respondents indicated they prefer using Windows). The 2024 WebAIM survey found that JAWS and Google Chrome were the most common screen reader/browser combinations. 24. 7% of respondents said that they use JAWS with Chrome. 95. 6% of respondents using JAWS said they were either very or somewhat satisfied with the software. JAWS does use a lot of computer memory, so that is something to consider when deciding which screen reader to use. NVDA NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) is the second most popular screen reader. 37. 7% of WebAIM survey respondents used NVDA as their... --- ### 5 Graphic Design Tips for Creating an Accessible Website - Published: 2025-03-06 - Modified: 2025-04-14 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/5-graphic-design-tips-for-creating-an-accessible-website/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, assistive technology, web accessibility Designing an accessible website involves creating a digital experience that everyone can use, regardless of their abilities. These five graphic design tricks address common barriers and offer practical solutions to make your website inclusive. Select Easy-to-Read Fonts Decorative or overly stylized fonts can be challenging to read, especially for users with dyslexia or low vision. They diminish readability and accessibility, making it harder for users to consume content efficiently. To remedy this, use simple, sans-serif fonts like Arial, Verdana, or Roboto for body text, and reserve decorative fonts for headings or logos. For instance, you can use Arial for the main text and a decorative font like Pacifico for the logo to maintain a balanced design. Provide Sufficient Contrast Low contrast between text and background colors affects readability. This can create challenges for users with low vision or color blindness, as they may struggle to distinguish text from its background. To address this, ensure a contrast ratio of at least 4. 5:1 for regular text and 3:1 for large text. Tools like the WebAIM Contrast Checker or the Adobe Color Analyzer can help you verify your design choices. One simple way to avoid this issue is to use high contrast between the background and font color. For example, instead of light gray text on a white background, use black text on a white or light-yellow background for better readability. Design for Keyboard Navigation Users relying on keyboards can’t interact effectively with poorly designed interfaces. Missing focus states or inaccessible navigation... --- ### What is WCAG Accessibility? Why is WCAG chosen as the Accessibility Standard? - Published: 2025-02-27 - Modified: 2025-04-14 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-wcag-accessibility-why-is-wcag-chosen-as-the-accessibility-standard/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, pdf accessibility, web accessibility WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) accessibility refers to web accessibility as defined by global web accessibility regulations. These regulations (WCAG) are part of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), which is a project of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The WCAG serves as a measurement tool for the accessibility of websites and other digital properties. This blog post will offer an in-depth analysis of the WCAG and explain why it is recognized as the international standard for web accessibility. WCAG Overview The WCAG has four overarching principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. Collectively, these principles, called POUR, represent the categories under which each WCAG rule falls. Each principle has several guidelines, each with testable success criteria for assessing web accessibility. The WCAG has three conformance levels: A, AA, and AAA. The second highest, AA, is widely considered realistic for companies. Although AAA conformance is ideal, it is not typically required, as it is not always attainable. At Allyant, we consistently test for AA compliance. WCAG History The first version of WCAG, WCAG 1. 0, was released in 1999. This was the first release of any formal web accessibility guidelines. WCAG 1. 0 was essentially a checklist and was pretty restrictive. WCAG 2. 0, released in 2008, included 12 guidelines and 61 testable success criteria. These guidelines and success criteria allowed for more flexibility regarding web accessibility compliance. WCAG 2. 1, built on 2. 0, was released in 2018 and included 13 guidelines and 78 success criteria (one guideline and 17... --- ### How to do an Accessibility Test using TalkBack - Published: 2025-02-20 - Modified: 2025-02-11 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-do-an-accessibility-test-using-talkback/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, web accessibility Making an app accessible isn’t just a checkbox in your development cycle; it’s about ensuring everyone can enjoy a great user experience, including users of screen reading software. On Android, TalkBack is the go-to tool for navigating through apps without needing to see the screen, serving as the operating system’s built-in screen reader technology. This guide introduces TalkBack testing essentials, provides tips to help you get comfortable with TalkBack, and explains why this is a key part of building inclusive Android apps. Why TalkBack Testing Matters Testing your app with TalkBack has several valuable benefits: Empowers Blind and Low-Vision Users: TalkBack enables Android users with visual impairments to interact with apps in meaningful ways. By testing with TalkBack, you ensure that these users can fully navigate and engage with your application fully, benefiting from its services and functionality. Enhances User Experience: Accessibility testing with TalkBack often leads to overall app improvements. Consistent navigation and clear labels benefit sighted users just as much as those who use screen readers. Meets Legal Standards: Digital accessibility regulations, such as the ADA and WCAG, set standards for ensuring that apps are usable for people with disabilities. Testing with TalkBack is a step toward complying with these standards. Expands Your Reach: By providing an accessible app, you can reach a wider audience, including those who depend on assistive technology to navigate digital spaces. Getting Started with TalkBack To start testing your app with TalkBack, you must first enable it on your Android device: Enable TalkBack... --- ### What We Can Learn about Digital Accessibility from Gaming - Published: 2025-02-13 - Modified: 2025-01-30 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-we-can-learn-about-digital-accessibility-from-gaming/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, web accessibility People with disabilities should be able to fully participate in any activity they want. We all know this, believe it, and are working to make it a reality. I’d like to share my experience as a visually impaired gamer in order to illustrate how things that are not accessible can be made accessible in hopes of inspiring others to make an activity they are passionate about work for them. Understanding Visual Impairment It’s always challenging to articulate to sighted people what seeing is like for me. I’ve been visually impaired my entire life, so I don’t know anything else but what I see, mostly a large blind spot in my central vision. For simplicity’s sake, let’s just say my level of vision is... pretty bad. I’ve also been a gamer since I was old enough to pick up a controller back in the Nintendo Entertainment System era. Adapting to Gaming Challenges I recall finding cheat codes and using tools like GameShark and Game Genie to even the playing field. Games that featured parts with time limits to complete a particular task, like collecting five tokens in under two minutes, proved extra challenging for me. This is when I would find a cheat code for unlimited time (I’m looking at you, Super Mario 64). In addition to cheat codes and general hacking (which would eventually contribute to my interest in software development), I also used magnification. I would play GameBoy games under my CCTV (desktop magnifier) and use Windows Magnifier on... --- ### Does WCAG Apply to Print? - Published: 2025-02-06 - Modified: 2025-04-14 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/does-wcag-apply-to-print/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: alt format, alternative format, large print As documentation moves increasingly into the digital space and companies seek to economize by reducing printing, it’s reasonable to see a gap emerging between digital and print documents. As such, do standards and guidelines even apply to both types of documents? More specifically, are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) meaningful for print documents? After all, the term “web content” seems to exclude other formats from the get-go. However, web and print documents are not mutually exclusive entities: they’re more like two sides of the same coin. Importance of consistency between web and print formats Online content, such as explanatory text, account information, and forms, is typically printable for various purposes. It also features similar structures, including headings, lists, tables, and images. For instance, a contract between a bank and a customer may be drafted online, printed to obtain a signature, and then stored as part of the contract record. From an accessibility standpoint, it is very important that there be consistency between web and print formats. A user may download a document and apply custom styling to meet personal needs, such as low vision or color vision disabilities; they can also print it for their own use and retention. In the case of the bank contract mentioned above, it would be very important to ensure consistency between the digital and analog versions of the contract. It is important for both the digital and print versions of a document to follow similar guidelines. While WCAG is intended for web content,... --- ### 5 Screen Reader Testing Best Practices for Website Accessibility - Published: 2025-01-30 - Modified: 2025-01-30 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/5-screen-reader-testing-best-practices-for-website-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, web accessibility So, you’re curious about how screen reader software really works, huh? Or maybe you want to know how users with assistive tech navigate your site. Perhaps you’re just ready to roll up your sleeves and dive into some hands-on testing to create truly accessible, high-quality digital experiences. No matter your motivation, these five essential screen reader tests are non-negotiable. Just as you wouldn’t dream of excluding users out of the design process, you can’t overlook these in your testing. Let's geek out! 1. Test for Proper Semantic Structure Your headings (H1, H2, H3, etc. ) and landmarks (nav, main, footer, header) form the skeleton of your site’s accessibility. Without them? Chaos. Screen reader users depend on this structure to logically navigate the content. Use arrow keys to browse and hear which elements are announced and how. Or, if you’re feeling fancy, use keyboard shortcuts like the “H” key to jump to the next heading. ProTip: Check if the structure makes sense and keeps your users' journey seamless. 2. Ensure All Actionable Elements Are Properly Labeled and Announced Every link and button must have a label that clearly states its purpose. There are no mystery buttons here! Labels should be descriptive enough that users know exactly what will happen when they interact with them. Use the Tab key to navigate through all actionable elements on the page. Make sure each element is announced with both its label and type (e. g. , link, button). Pro Tip: If an element has a... --- ### When and Why: CommonLook PDF & CommonLook Office - Published: 2025-01-23 - Modified: 2025-01-14 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/when-and-why-commonlook-pdf-commonlook-office/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: Accessible PDF, pdf accessibility, pdf accessibility software, pdf remediation One of the more common questions we receive at Allyant is when to use CommonLook PDF or CommonLook Office. Additionally, we frequently find ourselves recommending changes to an organization’s workflow to better utilize the software at their disposal. For example, if a client has access to both CL PDF and CL Office, it’s not uncommon to say something like, “This is actually much easier in our other platform,” or “Let’s explore using the other tool to handle situations like this. ” Our priority is accuracy and efficiency, so giving our clients these powerful tools and educating them on when to use them will always be a priority. As a quick overview, it's important to note that our software fits into specific niches, and different use cases can benefit from each tool. CommonLook Office CommonLook Office is a relatively simple plug-in to both Microsoft Word and PowerPoint that allows a client to walk through a checking and fixing process to ensure that the PDF output from that file is accessible with no additional manual remediation required. It is simple to learn, powerful in specific document circumstances, and exclusively specialized in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. CommonLook PDF CommonLook PDF is the most powerful PDF remediation tool available. It is a plugin to Adobe Acrobat and can work on any PDF, regardless of what program produced the document. This is the logical choice for authors who work out of InDesign, Publisher, or other PDF producers, and the remediators who only have access to... --- ### Preparing for 2025: The Digital Accessibility Landscape - Published: 2025-01-16 - Modified: 2025-01-14 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/preparing-for-2025-the-digital-accessibility-landscape/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, alternative format As we kick off 2025, digital accessibility continues to evolve from a niche consideration to a mainstream priority for organizations across industries and the globe. It is important to note that this shift isn’t just about compliance. Although regulatory deadlines and legal pressures will undoubtedly drive action (or reaction), it is always critical to recognize accessibility as a business need and celebrate accessibility wins when achieved. In this guide, I aim to provide a roadmap to help you plan for the year ahead, highlighting key deadlines, anticipated trends, and practical steps to either rebuild your accessibility strategy or continue expanding on your progress from 2024. Whether you’re navigating new regulations, enhancing your team’s knowledge, or preparing for the next wave of innovation, 2025 is poised to be a pivotal year for digital accessibility. Why 2025 Matters for Digital Accessibility When we think about accessibility, it’s easy to focus on the here and now—meeting today’s requirements or responding to immediate legal challenges. But 2025 is a year in which I envision a shift in the market. Forward-thinking planning will pay strong dividends or be realized by those teams that began this in 2024. Several major regulatory deadlines loom, and the groundwork laid now will determine whether organizations stay ahead of the curve or struggle to keep pace. Let’s dive into some of these key deadlines and what they mean for your organization. Key Accessibility Deadlines Shaping 2025 European Accessibility Act (EAA) – June 2025 The EAA is a game changer for... --- ### A Practical Guide for SMBs Responding to ADA Website Demand Letters and Lawsuits - Published: 2025-01-14 - Modified: 2025-04-14 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/guide-how-respond-ada-website-demand-letters-lawsuits/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, web accessibility Let’s face it: finding a web accessibility demand letter or lawsuit in your inbox can send your stress levels through the roof. If you’re a small-to-medium-sized business, it might even feel like the sky is falling. But here’s what I’ve learned in over 7 years in the space: don’t panic! There are clear, actionable steps you can take to protect your business and resolve these issues. Additionally, your website might not be as inaccessible as the legal claim suggests, and I can reasonably assume you likely did not intentionally block access to a user with a disability. I also realize the standard response from our industry is, “Shame on you” for not knowing about website accessibility. However, my experience in the space provides the context that you may have been led to believe—by a development partner or accessibility vendor (such as an overlay provider)—that your website was “fully compliant” with all standards. Then, surprise! Out of left field, you get a legal claim outlining a bunch of reasons why you were not in compliance. Before we dig in, let me clarify one thing: I’m not a lawyer, and you shouldn’t take any of the recommendations in this article as legal advice. Before proceeding, you should contact your legal advisors (see Step 1 below). However, having worked directly with over 500 clients to build remediation and risk mitigation plans—and after reading over 5,000 ADA website lawsuits during my time in this space—I’ve learned a thing or two and picked up on... --- ### 6 Things to Look for in an Accessibility Audit: The Most Common WCAG Violations - Published: 2025-01-09 - Modified: 2025-04-14 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/6-things-to-look-for-in-an-accessibility-audit-the-most-common-wcag-violations/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, web accessibility Regarding digital accessibility assessments for our clients, we are often asked what the most common issues our team identifies when performing website (or mobile) audits. Having performed thousands of digital accessibility audits in our history, Allyant has a wealth of experience identifying the key areas that can make or break your digital environments' WCAG conformance and usability. While a detailed live-user audit delves into numerous specifics and should cover the full breadth of WCAG conformance, this post focuses on six pivotal aspects that ensure your web or mobile application is on track to hit and maintain digital conformance. We reviewed data across our thousands of historical assessments and active clients to identify the most common issues our team finds to help you comply with legal requirements and pave the way for creating an inclusive and equitable digital experience for all users. Let's explore these essential components and how they can transform your digital presence into a model of accessibility excellence. Page Headings Page headings are used to designate different sections of web pages. Headings are especially useful for screen reader users, as many users of screen reader technology leverage headings to quickly navigate via headings, as was outlined in the WebAIM Screen Reader Survey of 2024. This feature allows screen reader users to skip sections as they choose when coded properly on websites or mobile applications. There are also different heading levels. For instance, the page title should be marked up as a level 1 heading. Each major section should... --- ### Navigating the European Accessibility Act: How to Avoid Penalties and Stay Compliant - Published: 2025-01-07 - Modified: 2025-04-10 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/european-accessibility-act-avoid-penalties-stay-compliant/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, web accessibility The European Accessibility Act (EAA) represents a paradigm shift, transforming accessibility from a recommended practice to a legal obligation for businesses across the globe. With the compliance deadline of June 2025 quickly approaching, businesses operating in the EU market face substantial risks if they fail to meet accessibility standards outlined in EN 301 549, a set of compliance guidelines derived from WCAG 2. 1 AA. The penalties for non-compliance with the EAA are a bit unique in that they are mandated by specific EU member states. Therefore, there is variance in the penalties, but it can include fines, market restrictions, and even criminal charges in severe cases. Here are a few examples of noted penalties for non-compliance across a few member states: Germany: Fines can reach €50,000 for non-compliant products. Ireland: Directors of offending companies who persistently fail to comply may be sentenced to up to six months in prison. France: Products found non-compliant may be banned from the market outright, with daily fines for unresolved issues. Denmark: Non-compliance can result in fines calculated as a percentage of company revenue, ensuring significant financial impact. These examples illustrate how enforcement under the EAA isn’t uniform; each member state enacts its own policies for compliance oversight and penalties. Naturally, this variability increases compliance complexity for businesses operating across multiple countries in the EU. With less than six months to be in compliance, this article is meant to act as a proactive approach to help organizations mitigate legal and financial risks, build ongoing... --- ### Why EU Digital Agencies Must Prioritize Accessibility Now: Building Competitive Advantage Through Allyant's Global Partner Program - Published: 2024-12-23 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/why-eu-digital-agencies-must-prioritize-accessibility-now-building-competitive-advantage-through-allyants-global-partner-program/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, EAA, web accessibility As the June 2025 deadline for the European Accessibility Act (EAA) approaches, digital agencies across the EU and those building websites or applications for EU-based consumers face mounting pressure to deliver accessible and compliant websites, mobile applications, and digital documents. The EAA currently mandates conformance to the accessibility standard EN 301 549, derived from WCAG 2. 1 AA, for any company serving EU markets. For EU-focused digital agencies, this moment represents a dual challenge and opportunity. Agencies that fail to prioritize accessibility risk falling behind as accessibility becomes a core requirement for website design and development project requests. However, those agencies who embrace accessibility now, with the right partner, can secure their position as trusted leaders in compliance and inclusion. Allyant’s Digital Agency Partner Program, now expanding globally, offers a proven framework for helping EU web and design agencies integrate accessibility into their services, exceed client expectations, and future-proof their businesses. Why Accessibility is Non-Negotiable for EU Digital Agencies The European Accessibility Act: A Catalyst for Change The EAA requires that all digital products and services meet accessibility standards to be sold in the EU. This impacts a wide range of both websites and applications, including: E-commerce websites and platforms Mobile applications Digital marketing campaigns Enterprise software targeting EU businesses Noncompliance risks penalties, varying by member state regulations, and procurement disqualification. As the June 2025 deadline approaches, more organizations are requesting conformance in product builds and ongoing releases. Due to the potential legal ramifications, clients swiftly require accessible solutions from... --- ### EAA Compliance Checklist: Key Steps to Meeting 2025 Accessibility Requirements - Published: 2024-12-20 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/eaa-compliance-checklist-key-steps-to-meeting-2025-accessibility-requirements/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, EAA, web accessibility The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is reshaping the way businesses approach accessibility globally. By June 28, 2025, companies must comply with specific digital accessibility standards. For companies selling products and services in the EU, the stakes are high—not just to meet the legal requirements but to remain competitive in a market that increasingly prioritizes inclusivity. The goal of this guide is to help you navigate the path to EAA compliance with detailed, actionable insights focusing on real-world lessons we have learned from years of front-line experience helping organizations tackle accessibility at scale. Understanding EN 301 549 and Its Relationship to WCAG 2. 2 At the heart of the EAA lies the European standard EN 301 549. Ultimately, this standard aims to harmonize the accessibility compliance of ICT (information and communication technologies). Of note, it is unique to the commonly referenced Web Compliance standards built by the W3C, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). However, it is also not entirely unique. In fact, EN 301 549 draws from WCAG 2. 1 AA but extends into other areas like software, hardware, and telecommunications devices. With WCAG 2. 2 officially adopted in October 2023, EN 301 549 is expected to eventually integrate key aspects of the updated guidelines, further tightening requirements and aligning the EAA standards with other global accessibility regulations. How EN 301 549 Differs From WCAG While WCAG focuses primarily on web content, EN 301 549 expands into broader areas that, in some cases, live far outside of website-specific content. These... --- ### 6 Accessible Styling Practices for Web Accessibility - Published: 2024-12-19 - Modified: 2024-12-10 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/6-accessible-styling-practices-for-web-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, web accessibility Creating accessible websites isn’t just about meeting legal requirements; it’s about ensuring an inclusive experience for all users, regardless of ability. This means designing and styling web pages to accommodate a range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments. By applying accessible styling practices, you improve usability for everyone, enhancing your website’s reach and effectiveness. Whether you're a designer, developer, or content creator, following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ensures your site is usable, user-friendly, and welcoming to all. Here are six easy-to-follow and essential styling best practices that every website designer and developer should consider: Focus Indicators for Keyboard Navigation Many users, particularly those with motor disabilities, rely on keyboard navigation. Focus indicators highlight which interactive element, such as a button or link, is currently selected when navigating via the keyboard. A strong, visible focus state (usually a border or outline) ensures that users can see where they are on the page. Avoid removing focus outlines, as they are essential for accessibility.   Consistent Navigation Consistency across pages aids users with cognitive disabilities by reducing the cognitive load needed to navigate a website. Keeping headers, footers, and menus uniform allows users to familiarize themselves with the layout. A predictable design structure also assists those who use screen readers or keyboard navigation, allowing them to access content without confusion efficiently. Use Sufficient Color Contrast Color contrast is key for users with visual impairments, particularly those with low vision or color blindness. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)... --- ### From WCAG 2.1 to 2.2: Why AA Conformance is the Optimal Accessibility Goal - Published: 2024-12-12 - Modified: 2024-12-04 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/difference-between-wcag-2-a-aa-explained/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, web accessibility With growing global regulations and legal demands, digital accessibility remains a critical factor in ensuring that all users, including those with disabilities, can access and engage with your brand’s digital footprint. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) have long served as the global benchmark for digital accessibility. Yet, one of the most common questions I hear day in and day out from prospective clients looking to kick off a roadmap to digital accessibility conformance is, “What standard should we comply with? Can we just be A compliant to start? ” – so let’s break down those questions! With the release of WCAG 2. 2 in October of 2023, organizations must understand the nuances between WCAG 2. 0, 2. 1, and 2. 2 and why aiming for WCAG 2. 2 AA conformance is the most robust strategy for futureproofing your digital properties. In this article, I will discuss the specifics of WCAG conformance levels, dispel common misconceptions, and explain why WCAG 2. 2 AA should be the target for your web and mobile accessibility initiatives. Understanding WCAG Conformance Levels: 2. 0, 2. 1, and 2. 2 WCAG 2. 0, released in 2008, laid the foundation for digital accessibility. It was the first comprehensive set of guidelines and also busted the most common myth that web accessibility guidelines are “new. ” WCAG 2. 1, released in 2018, built upon this foundation, introducing new success criteria that addressed the evolving needs of users with disabilities, particularly in mobile and touch-based environments. WCAG 2.... --- ### What is a Digital Accessibility Audit Report? - Published: 2024-12-05 - Modified: 2024-11-27 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-a-digital-accessibility-audit-report/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, web accessibility There are a multitude of reasons that could lead to an organization needing an accessibility audit. This could be triggered by a demand letter or lawsuit against their website or mobile application, they could be looking for a proactive baseline of the most critical access barriers present on their website or application to help prioritize this in future development cycles, or a client may have requested a VPAT (Voluntary Accessibility Product Template)/ACR (Accessibility Conformance Report) of their software product in a procurement or RFP (Request for Proposal) process. In this blog post, we will discuss accessibility and the outcome of a digital accessibility audit, specifically the output in the form of an audit report. We will also discuss why audit reports are necessary and common pitfalls that prevent teams from properly implementing necessary fixes or driving organizational change in future development. We will also discuss how Allyant uses digital accessibility audit reports to ensure our customers have the resources to successfully remediate WCAG violations within their website or application, regardless of their team's experience with accessibility. Why is an Accessibility Audit Report Important? Teams mustn't view an audit report as a development bug list or the full breadth of their digital product’s accessibility barriers. Instead, an audit should be leveraged as a health assessment that informs teams on removing the most critical WCAG violations of a website or application, specifically those that affect system-wide access or component libraries, such as menu navigation, key components replicated and reused through a website,... --- ### Common Yet Easily Fixable Accessibility Issues I Encounter on Most Websites as a Blind User - Published: 2024-11-28 - Modified: 2024-11-22 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/common-yet-easily-fixable-accessibility-issues-i-encounter-on-most-websites-as-a-blind-user/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, web accessibility Imagine you are really excited about doing something online, such as buying that shiny new gadget, those concert tickets you’ve been waiting for, or those plane tickets that finally came down in price so you can go on that much-needed vacation you’ve been waiting for. Today is the day when you can finally make that purchase. You hop online using your device of choice, log in, open up your preferred web browser, navigate to the site, and... You can’t read any of the buttons or links. The images are just black squares, and all the text looks exactly the same—no larger text for headings, no bold or italic font, nothing. The page is just a wall of text with random black squares where images should go. Blank buttons permeate the page, their purpose a mystery that could bring success or epic failure as you roll the dice on activating them. This nightmarish scenario is all too familiar for those of us who are Blind or visually impaired and rely on assistive technology (AT) to perform daily digital tasks. Those customers who don’t need assistive technology to access the web would snatch up those tickets, the last of those gadgets, or the last cheap plane ticket while those who need to use assistive technology are still pressing all the blank, unlabeled buttons to see what they do, arrowing around the page frantically, smashing their keyboards against the wall, etc. To make this scenario even worse, this is all easily avoidable and... --- ### How to Do an Accessibility Test Using VoiceOver - Published: 2024-11-21 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-do-an-accessibility-test-using-voiceover/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, mobile accessibility Digital accessibility is key to ensuring that all users, regardless of ability, can seamlessly use your mobile application. One of the most effective tools for mobile accessibility testing is VoiceOver, Apple’s built-in screen reader for iOS devices. In fact, every Apple device, such as iPhones or iPads, has this assistive technology, which can be enabled at any time. If you’re new to accessibility or just starting to explore VoiceOver, don’t worry! In this post, I’ll walk you through the basics, explain why testing with VoiceOver matters, and provide a simple guide to get you started. Why Test Your App with VoiceOver Before we dive into the “how,” let’s look at why VoiceOver testing is so valuable for your app’s accessibility: Inclusive Design: VoiceOver makes it possible for people who are blind or have low vision to navigate and interact with mobile apps. By testing with VoiceOver, you can ensure your app works for these users. Better User Experience: Accessibility testing often improves the overall user experience for all users. Cleaner navigation, clearer instructions, and simplified workflows benefit everyone. Legal Compliance: Digital accessibility is required by law in a growing number of countries worldwide. Testing with VoiceOver helps you comply with regulations such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the forthcoming European Accessibility Act (EAA). Wider Audience Reach: More accessible apps mean a larger user base. By making your app VoiceOver-friendly, you’re opening the doors to millions of users who rely on assistive technology. Getting Started with VoiceOver To... --- ### Mobile Application Accessibility: Understanding WCAG Conformance and Legal Requirements for Your Native Applications - Published: 2024-11-14 - Modified: 2024-11-13 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/mobile-application-accessibility-understanding-wcag-conformance-and-legal-requirements-for-your-native-applications/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, web accessibility What is Mobile Application Accessibility? Mobile application accessibility isn’t that unlike web accessibility. It extends the boundaries of the term ‘digital accessibility. ’ Ultimately, mobile application accessibility ensures that individuals with disabilities can fully access and interact with mobile applications they would install natively on their devices. To garner context, we can all assess our own mobile device usage—you might even be reading this blog through a mobile browser! Now, think about the mobile applications you use daily rather than going to your browser like you would on a laptop or desktop computer. Perhaps you regularly use a banking application to pay your bills, a weather app to make your plans for a weekend adventure or a music app to turn on your favorite songs while you relax. Most of us use an endless number of mobile applications via our personal devices daily rather than relying on opening up our laptops to perform routine tasks. But what if these applications are not accessible for people with disabilities who might need them as much as anyone to efficiently and effectively engage with vendors, travel, or order food? Like website accessibility, mobile application accessibility refers to making native applications compatible with assistive technologies like screen readers (e. g. , VoiceOver for iOS and TalkBack for Android in this context) and ensuring the app’s design, navigation, and functionality are user-friendly for all. Accessibility in this context goes beyond compliance with guidelines like WCAG; it includes a focus on usability, ensuring that everyone can... --- ### Allyant and Carahsoft Partner to Provide Premier Accessibility Solutions to Government Agencies for 508/ADA Compliance - Published: 2024-11-13 - Modified: 2024-12-03 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-and-carahsoft-partner-to-provide-premier-accessibility-solutions-to-government-agencies-for-508-ada-compliance/ - Categories: News Innovative Customer Experience and Engagement SolutionsNow Available to the Public Sector WASHINGTON and RESTON, Va. – November 13, 2024 — Allyant, the world’s leading provider of accessibility services, software, and solutions, and Carahsoft Technology Corp. , the Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, today announced a partnership. Under the agreement, Carahsoft will serve as Allyant’s Master Government Aggregator®, making the company’s comprehensive suite of accessibility solutions available to the Public Sector through Carahsoft’s reseller partners and NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V, Information Technology Enterprise Solutions – Software 2 (ITES-SW2) and OMNIA Partners contracts. “We are extremely pleased to partner with Carahsoft, a distinguished leader in the Government IT solutions sector,” said Ariel Kunar, CEO of Allyant. “This partnership will enable Carahsoft and its reseller partners to deliver Allyant's renowned accessibility solutions, supporting Government agencies in their commitment to inclusivity and equitable service for all citizens. ” In compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Allyant’s offerings have a full range of accessibility services and software tools, including digital, document, and print solutions, as well as Allyant's CommonLook software tools and training. Allyant’s expertise in accessibility solutions ensures that Government agencies can meet their accessibility goals effectively and efficiently. Leveraging Allyant’s industry-leading software and services, Carahsoft will help the Public Sector ensure that its digital and print communications are accessible to all citizens, including those with disabilities. This partnership reinforces Carahsoft’s dedication to supporting key Government objectives by offering innovative solutions that... --- ### Contracted vs. Uncontracted Braille: Which Type Should I Use? - Published: 2024-11-07 - Modified: 2024-10-29 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/two-types-braille-contracted-vs-uncontracted/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, assistive technology, braille Braille is a form of communication used worldwide, primarily by blind and visually impaired people. There are two forms of Braille: uncontracted (Alphabetic) and contracted (Literary). This blog post will discuss the differences between the two forms and which is better in certain situations. Uncontracted (Alphabetic) Braille Uncontracted Braille “writes each letter and word exactly as it is spelled out in print. ” For example, when using uncontracted Braille, the word “dog” is written using three separate Braille cells. Each cell represents a different letter used in traditional print. Uncontracted Braille is typically the easiest form to learn due to its similarity to conventional print. Contracted (Literary) Braille Uncontracted Braille writes out each letter, and contracted Braille is Braille “shorthand. ” Although contracted and uncontracted Braille uses the same letters, punctuation, and numbers, contracted Braille uses unique signs to represent common words or letter combinations. Contracted Braille is similar to print contractions (like writing “it’s” instead of “it is”). There are Braille contractions for common words such as “the,” “for,” and “will. ” There are also contractions for specific letter combinations such as “ing,” “er,” and “sh. ” Because of this shorthand form, contracted Braille takes up less space than uncontracted Braille. More experienced Braille users typically use contracted Braille, and most people who learn uncontracted Braille usually go on to learn contracted Braille. Which Type Should I Use? Which is “Better? ” Since uncontracted Braille is generally easier to learn than contracted Braille, less experienced Braille users typically use... --- ### Accessible Procurement Demystified: 6 Best Practices for Evaluating Technology - Published: 2024-10-31 - Modified: 2024-10-28 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/accessible-procurement-demystified-6-best-practices-for-evaluating-technology/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, web accessibility Procuring accessible technology can feel overwhelming, particularly for organizations unfamiliar with the technicalities of digital accessibility requirements for assistive technology users. Whether in the K-12 education space, healthcare, state/federal government, or other high-risk industries, ensuring the technology you procure is accessible is not just a legal mandate in many verticals—it’s an ethical responsibility. Accessible technology empowers your end-users, including students, employees, and the public, ensuring equal access for everyone. This article simplifies the process of evaluating technology in your procurement process by passing on some simple best practices I have learned from many other leaders in the accessibility industry, including the Disability:IN Procure Access Advisory Group. It will even dive into some six practical tests you or your procurement team can follow when assessing technology for accessibility compliance. We’ll also highlight why asking the right questions and ensuring vendor accountability is essential—even if accessibility is a new or unfamiliar topic for your organization. Start by Asking About Accessibility Standards Before diving in, it’s essential to ask the vendor about their commitment to digital accessibility. At first glance, this might seem like a basic question, but the vendor's response can tell you a lot. Accessibility cannot be addressed as an afterthought—it's a fundamental part of ensuring all users can engage with a product, regardless of their abilities. Why This Matters Imagine you’re about to embark on a major construction project. Wouldn’t you want to ensure the contractor has all the necessary permits, certifications, and experience before breaking ground? The same applies... --- ### Banff Bound: A Somewhat Accessible Journey - Published: 2024-10-29 - Modified: 2024-10-28 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/banff-bound-a-somewhat-accessible-journey/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, disability My family recently embarked on a vacation to Banff National Park. We packed up our mothers, my guide dog Jeb, and ourselves for an eight-hour journey from our home in Missoula, Montana. As someone who is blind, I’ve always had mixed feelings about traveling. While I eagerly anticipate the food, weather, and meeting new people, one of the main attractions of vacationing—sightseeing—isn’t something I can fully experience like a sighted person. To make the most of our trip, we planned activities, locations, and experiences that I could enjoy more fully. In this article, I’ll highlight some of the accessibility successes and challenges I encountered during our trip. Traveling with a Guide Dog To ensure we didn’t encounter any issues bringing my guide dog, Jeb, across the U. S. /Canadian border, we contacted Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB), the organization that trained Jeb. GDB offers client support services, including travel assistance, to help identify any legal requirements for traveling internationally with a guide dog. They recommended I have the following: Jeb’s official paperwork from GDB, identifying him as a graduated and active service dog. Vaccination records from Jeb’s vet, particularly his rabies vaccination status. A completed CDC Dog Import Form and receipt. Overall, the process went smoothly. GDB emailed a PDF of Jeb’s paperwork, which I could print, and Jeb’s vet also sent a PDF of his vaccination records. Once I had the vaccination records, the CDC Dog Import Form was relatively quick and easy to fill out. With all... --- ### How to Make Visual Content Accessible in PDFs - Published: 2024-10-24 - Modified: 2024-10-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-make-visual-content-accessible-in-pdfs/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, pdf accessibility Overview of accessibility in relation to visual content: We want someone using AT to get the same information as someone who is not using AT. Quick examples: describing images and avoiding things only understood visually. Design with Accessibility in Mind: Do what you can and follow best practices in the authoring tool to avoid eventual issues. You can use text styles in most authoring tools, provide alt text to simple graphics, and more. Do not use tables for layout purposes. Some/most situations will need OCR for searchable text manipulation. Can visual content be presented in another way? Simple example: Complicated tables should be written as three individual tables instead of one. Advanced example: Graph as a table. Two common examples: Flow charts: Tag as images with alt text. Tag using heading-level organization. Even a list is possible. Ask, “Does this make sense and share the same content? ” If yes, then you are fine. Maps: Alt text to the entire thing in some scenarios is okay: “United States major highways. ” Specific info using headings and Figures with Alt text is another great option. Making Graphic-Heavy Content Accessible In a world where more and more information is shared electronically and visually, a common question we answer is regarding the accessibility of visual content. How can we ensure that our documents are accessible to the masses when the information, context, and, in some cases, the text itself, is a visual experience? Some of the most common examples include flowcharts, maps, and... --- ### The ROI of Digital Accessibility for B2C and B2B Brands - Published: 2024-10-17 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/the-roi-of-digital-accessibility-for-b2c-and-b2b-brands/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, web accessibility As the reader, you are likely accessing this article to understand and quantify the return-on-investment for digital accessibility, which you will present to your board or leadership to gain budget approval. So, I think it’s important to manage some expectations at the start. This article is not intended to provide cold, hard numbers. Instead, I’m going to focus on the big picture today. But why is that? Because for most business teams, the ROI on digital accessibility is largely a preventative ROI, which is perhaps the most difficult ROI to prove. In fact, it can never technically be proved. “Preventative” ROI is prevention, which implies you are trying to avoid an expense or extend the life of something. In our day-to-day lives, we spend money on “preventative ROI” all the time. Perhaps we have our HVAC tuned annually to extend its life, we get our tires rotated to make sure they last longer, and we change the batteries on our smoke detector every year to prevent fire hazards. Alas, everything in this world is an assumption of risk based on statistics. If you don’t believe me, look around! I’m sure we’ve all heard about that friend who hasn’t touched their AC system in 10 years but runs as mighty as the day it was installed or someone who has never installed a smoke detector but never faced a fire. The fact is, your organization may never face the repercussions that so many accessibility companies try to quantify. However, for both... --- ### From AODA to ACA: Understanding Canada's Digital Accessibility Regulations - Published: 2024-10-10 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/from-aoda-to-aca-understanding-canadas-digital-accessibility-regulations/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, web, web accessibility, website accessibility Introduction: Canada’s Journey Toward Digital Accessibility As digital spaces expand into every facet of life, ensuring these spaces are inclusive and accessible has become a global priority. Canada has taken substantial steps in this direction, with pioneering regulations like the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) setting high standards for digital accessibility. While both acts are transformative, they are often misunderstood, particularly regarding their requirements and the organizations they affect. In this article, we’ll break down the histories of these two landmark regulations, dispel some common myths, and provide a detailed roadmap to compliance—focusing specifically on the digital accessibility requirements. We'll also discuss why Allyant's end-to-end accessibility services are critical for organizations to meet to excel in conforming to these Canadian accessibility obligations. AODA: Pioneering Digital Accessibility in Ontario History and Progression of the AODA The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) was enacted in 2005 to create a fully accessible Ontario by 2025. AODA was groundbreaking at the time, representing one of the earliest attempts at legislating accessibility in a Canadian province—or anywhere in the world, quite frankly. The act mandates accessibility across five key areas: Customer Service. Information and Communications. Employment. Transportation. Design of Public Spaces. The AODA is particularly concerned with the Information and Communications standard for digital accessibility. This standard requires organizations to ensure that their websites, mobile apps, and digital documents are accessible to people with disabilities. When the AODA was enacted in 2005, conformance standards for... --- ### If My Organization Gets Contacted for an ADA-accessible Statement, Where Should We Begin? - Published: 2024-10-08 - Modified: 2025-02-06 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/if-my-organization-gets-contacted-for-an-ada-accessible-statement-where-should-we-begin/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: alt format, alternative format, braille Every U. S. organization communicating with people about their personal information—including account statements, bills, and medical information—is subject to accessibility legislation. This legislation, which could be at the federal or state level, generally mandates equal access to these communications. The civil rights legislation with the most reach and enforcement is perhaps the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), operating at the federal level. If your organization suddenly receives a request for accessible statements that meet ADA requirements—and perhaps tellingly, if you must deal with this yourself as a new request—you probably need some guidance. In this article, we will summarize how you plan to meet ADA legal obligations to provide accessible statements that contain user (i. e. , customer, client, taxpayer) protected information. First, let’s look at the legal obligations very generally. Your Organization’s Legal Obligations The Americans with Disabilities Act contains several large sections called “Titles. ” Title II deals with public entities, including public transportation; it prohibits disability discrimination by all public entities at the municipal and state levels. Title III concerns private sector organizations and “public accommodations”: for those parts of private entities that the public can access, Title III mandates full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, or accommodations. Title II and III require that public and private (respectively) entities furnish or respect necessary “auxiliary aids and services. ” These can include allowing persons with disabilities to bring in service animals or persons to provide communication assistance and providing alternative format documents such as “audio... --- ### Digital Accessibility for Mobile Apps - Published: 2024-10-03 - Modified: 2024-10-07 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/digital-accessibility-for-mobile-apps/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: mobile, mobile accessibility, WCAG compliance, web accessibility Accessibility is no longer optional. As mobile devices dominate our daily lives, ensuring native mobile apps are accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities, is crucial. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide a solid framework for making digital content accessible; however, they were originally designed with websites in mind, not mobile apps. Many of WCAG's guidelines are still relevant to mobile, and ongoing updates aim to address mobile-specific concerns better. But—how do WCAG and native mobile development work together to create truly inclusive mobile experiences? WCAG and Mobile: The Fit WCAG provides valuable guidance for ensuring accessibility, but it doesn't fully address the unique challenges of native mobile apps. The principles of Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust (POUR) are crucial. Still, they don’t cover all aspects of mobile development—particularly those related to touchscreen functionality, gesture-based interactions, and other device-specific features. This gap presents challenges for developers aiming to build mobile apps that are both WCAG-compliant and genuinely accessible. WCAG in the Mobile World Although WCAG wasn’t initially designed for mobile apps, many of its guidelines still apply. The W3C has published guidance on applying WCAG to non-web information and communications technologies (ICT), including mobile apps, emphasizing that WCAG’s core principles remain relevant across various platforms. The Evolution of WCAG WCAG 2. 1 and 2. 2 introduced new success criteria specifically addressing mobile accessibility issues. These updates include guidelines for touch targets, orientation changes, and motion actuation—critical factors in mobile app development. This evolution shows that WCAG is progressively accommodating... --- ### How to Ensure Your VPAT ACR is Actionable, Not Just a Checklist - Published: 2024-10-01 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-ensure-your-vpat-acr-is-actionable-not-just-a-checklist/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, vpat, web accessibility In my daily work in digital accessibility, I have seen a concerning trend with the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) being viewed as a straightforward compliance tool. However, this misconception can be costly for software vendors and their clients procuring their software. When treated merely as a checkbox to satisfy procurement requirements, the VPAT fails to serve its intended purpose, documenting how accessible your product really is. More importantly, it should guide you in making meaningful accessibility improvements on a regular basis. The VPAT's real output is an actionable Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR), and its effectiveness depends entirely on how thoroughly your product has been assessed. Some Myths Regarding VPATs Let me quickly dispel a few myths and a strong concern I have seen in our industry over the past few months with increased procurement requirements based on U. S. and global regulations for software companies to set up the reasoning for writing this article. You cannot obtain a VPAT in 2-3 business days that you should feel comfortable providing in RFP or contract submissions, and if a business offers this, it should be a major red flag. A business providing you with a completed VPAT without a robust ACR and Audit Report that allows your team to improve your product and show a more accessible product on future VPAT ACRs is wasting your team’s resources. This article is meant to guide you through why a VPAT is far more than a checkbox for your sales team and how to... --- ### Alternate Format Documents and Non-Text Content: Accessibility for Images, Tables, and Maps - Published: 2024-09-26 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/alternate-format-documents-and-non-text-content-accessibility-for-images-tables-and-maps/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, alt format, alternative format, web accessibility The old expression “a picture is worth a thousand words” can be applied to modern digital content just as readily as it is to books or holiday Kodak photos to bore the neighbors. Content, whether in print or digital form, is more than just paragraph text: content creators employ images, tables, graphs, maps, and other representations to supplement text. They can be decorative or informative and appear in technical, educational, and literary documents. However, as with text content, all such non-text content must be accessible to users with disabilities. Users with visual, mobility, or cognitive disabilities need to be able to identify, navigate, and benefit from this content, just as with text. Let’s consider some measures that can be applied to non-text content. (Note that we will not discuss video content in this article. That is a separate topic that we will address in a separate blog post. ) Images Photos, artwork, diagrams, illustrations, pictures of bar graphs, and chart graphs are all examples of images that may need to have alternative representation for people with disabilities. While it may seem that this content would be detrimental to people with visual disabilities, images are an excellent way to communicate a variety of information, and this information can usually be represented in alternative text for users with visual disabilities. HTML and PDF documents utilize images with embedded alternative text, abbreviated “alt text,” that encapsulates the meaning of these images. There are limits to alt text: it should not be particularly long... --- ### How Does a Screen Reader Work? What's its Role in Web and PDF Accessibility? - Published: 2024-09-19 - Modified: 2024-09-22 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-does-a-screen-reader-work-whats-its-role-in-web-and-pdf-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, pdf accessibility, screen reader, web accessibility A screen reader is software primarily used by blind or visually impaired people who are unable to see content displayed on a computer monitor. There are many types of screen reading software, but the two most commonly used desktop screen readers are Job Access With Speech (JAWS) and NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA). VoiceOver and TalkBack are two commonly used screen readers for mobile devices. How are Screen Readers Helpful? Screen readers are software that audibly narrates content on webpages or electronic documents such as PDFs. As previously mentioned, screen readers are primarily used by blind or visually impaired people who rely on audio narration to understand digital content. Screen readers are also used in website accessibility testing since accessibility for blind and visually impaired users is essential to web accessibility. At Allyant, all our auditors (both sighted and blind/visually impaired) have extensive screen reader knowledge. Aaron Page, VP of Accessibility at Allyant, is a native screen reader user. He recently shared his story of navigating the Internet as a blind user, including a demonstration of his screen reader narrating a section of the Allyant website. Although Aaron’s screen reader reads fast, users can customize the reading speed. Screen Reader Accessibility Testing Correct coding Screen readers are critical to web and PDF accessibility. However, websites and electronic documents must be coded correctly to ensure equitable access. For example, a button on a webpage must be coded as a button for a screen reader to recognize it as such. When websites and... --- ### Navigating the European Accessibility Act: Why Software Companies Need a Strong Accessibility Roadmap - Published: 2024-09-17 - Modified: 2024-09-16 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/navigating-the-european-accessibility-act-why-software-companies-need-a-strong-accessibility-roadmap/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, pdf accessibility, web accessibility As the European Accessibility Act (EAA) approaches its 2025 implementation deadline, software companies must take proactive steps to ensure compliance. This follow-up blog delves into why software companies need to establish a robust accessibility roadmap, including the importance of third-party Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) Accessibility Conformance Reports (ACRs) and continuous updates. We'll also explore how European businesses must prioritize accessible procurement, ensuring that software vendors are committed to ongoing accessibility improvements. This is not just about meeting regulatory requirements but about enhancing product usability and expanding market access. The EAA and Software Companies: Building a Strong Accessibility Roadmap Software companies, particularly those operating in or targeting the European market, must recognize the significant impact the EAA will have on their business. The EAA requires that digital products and services be accessible to people with disabilities, aligning closely with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2. 2 AA and the EU's EN 301 549 standards. Why an Accessibility Roadmap is Essential: Regulatory Compliance: The EAA mandates that all digital services provided to European consumers or businesses be accessible. Without a clear accessibility roadmap, software companies risk non-compliance (including putting their customers at risk of legal action), leading to potential legal consequences, including fines and restrictions on market access. Market Differentiation: Accessibility is not just a regulatory requirement; it’s a market differentiator. Companies that demonstrate a commitment to accessibility with a clearly defined action plan and success metrics will stand out in a crowded market, attracting a broader customer base, including... --- ### Mastering the HTML tabindex Attribute for Enhanced Web Accessibility - Published: 2024-09-12 - Modified: 2024-09-16 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/mastering-the-aria-tabindex-attribute-for-enhanced-web-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, web accessibility When creating accessible web pages, the best principle to keep in mind is that standard HTML elements are fully accessible by default. This is a great starting point, but often, the standard set of HTML components does not provide the broad spectrum of complex design and functionality that many creators desire. One powerful tool that can help stretch the abilities of customized elements is the tabindex attribute. The Role of tabindex Assistive technology users frequently use the tab key to navigate between the elements on a web page. Usually, the order in which interactive elements receive focus via the tab key is loaded by the browser in the order that elements appear in the Document Object Model (DOM) or, in other words, the page's HTML code. The tabindex attribute can be used to change this order, to make an otherwise inactionable element focusable by the tab key, or to make an element unable to get tab key focus. This can be a useful accessibility aid, but it also has the potential to cause significant problems, so it should be used with caution. Manipulating Focus with Positive tabindex Values The tabindex attribute’s value indicates the element's position in the page's tab order. Setting tabindex to a positive integer (greater than zero) causes that element to gain focus at that specific point in the tab order. For example, an element with tabindex="1" will be the first element a user lands on when pressing the tab key, while tabindex="42" will place the element... --- ### Understanding the European Accessibility Act: Why U.S. Companies Must Prepare for 2025 Compliance - Published: 2024-09-10 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/understanding-european-accessibility-act-eaa-why-us-companies-must-prepare-for-2025-compliance/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, pdf accessibility, web accessibility The European Accessibility Act (EAA), set to take effect in June 2025, is a significant regulatory framework designed to ensure that products and services sold in the European Union (EU) are accessible to people with disabilities. While this legislation is European, one of the factors being lost is the impact. The EAA will have an impact that will extend well past Europe’s borders. These regulations will affect companies worldwide, including those in the United States. U. S. companies, specifically those in the private sector or Title III space, should pay close attention to the EAA. If you’re selling products to European consumers or software to European businesses, the EAA is a regulation you cannot ignore. For this reason, this article will explore how the EAA affects U. S. companies, the implications for those shipping products to Europe, and why conformance with WCAG 2. 2 AA could be crucial for your business within the next 12 months. We’ll also dive into specific U. S. business verticals most likely impacted by the EAA, such as e-commerce and hospitality. Why Does the European Accessibility Act Affect U. S. Companies? The EAA requires that all products and services sold within the EU be accessible to people with disabilities. This regulation extends to companies outside of Europe if their products or services reach European consumers. For U. S. companies, this means that if your business engages with the European market in any capacity—whether through direct sales, online services, or software deployment—you must ensure that your... --- ### The Cost of Digital Accessibility: A Comprehensive Guide for Organizations - Published: 2024-09-05 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-much-digital-web-accessibility-a-comprehensive-cost/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, web accessibility Navigating the complexities of budgeting for digital accessibility can be daunting for many teams. Without a clear understanding of what is required or how to allocate resources effectively, organizations often struggle to implement or maintain strong digital accessibility practices. This blog aims to demystify some of the unknowns around the cost of digital accessibility, providing detailed insights into why accessibility matters, how to build a task force, and what to expect when planning and budgeting for an accessibility project. Why Accessibility Matters for Your Organization The need to focus on digital accessibility is greater than ever due to growing global regulations that no longer allow organizations to view accessibility as a bonus feature. Compliance with these regulations, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the European Accessibility Act, and sector-specific guidelines like Section 508 for federal agencies or HHS regulations for healthcare organizations in the United States, is essential to avoid legal repercussions and potential fines. Beyond legal compliance, accessibility enhances your brand’s reputation, broadens your audience, and can significantly improve user experience for all visitors. Compliance and Legal Considerations Ignoring accessibility can result in significant legal ramifications. For instance, in 2023 alone, over 4,000 ADA-related digital accessibility lawsuits were filed in the United States. This number doesn’t even account for the thousands of demand letters for non-compliance that were filed as well, but in most scenarios, they have the same resource outcome for businesses. Many organizations overlook a critical factor until faced with legal action for non-compliance. The... --- ### Differences and Similarities in Structural & Accessibility Standards in Digital Documents - Published: 2024-08-29 - Modified: 2024-08-27 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/differences-and-similarities-in-structural-accessibility-standards-in-digital-documents/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, pdf accessibility Scope of this Article The Structural check tests against the PDF creation standard, ISO 32000. While ISO 32000 mentions accessibility functionality in PDF, it is broader. The Structural check confirms if the PDF is built correctly, verifying links, forms, graphics, and PDF encoding. (This is not the same thing as character encoding, although that’s a thing, too. ) The Accessibility standards approach the broader concept of what’s allowed in a PDF and tighten that up for accessibility. Because it's so widely used, we often refer to WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2. 1 regarding accessibility standards. WCAG 2. 0 is ISO standard 40500. The ISO standard has not been updated, and there is no new ISO standard for WCAG 2. 1. It is important to note that WCAG is for the web, not PDFs. Sometimes, WCAG wants you to do something to your webpage that isn’t supported in PDF. The PDF specifications will occasionally require you to do things differently because it is not web technology (like links in PDFs needing Alt text/Contents). Contents are a properties field for Link Annotations. It is a formal name for a descriptor that the standard calls for. (Alt text, Actual text, Expansion Text, Contents, Tool tips, and Language – are some similar properties. The PDF/UA spec—ISO 14289—is the accessibility standard specific to PDFs. It takes what is allowed in a PDF and regulates it for accessibility. Running a standard check may be the most essential step for document accessibility. For this reason, we... --- ### What are Accessible Textbooks and How Do You Make Them? - Published: 2024-08-22 - Modified: 2024-08-20 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-are-accessible-textbooks-and-how-do-you-make-them/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, braille Accessible textbooks are essential learning aids for students of all ages with disabilities. Students with disabilities require access to the same information as their peers; however, various types and technologies are involved in accessible textbooks and require special production. This article is intended as a primer for what accessible textbooks are, why they are significant, and how they are produced. Significance of Accessible Textbooks Defined broadly, an accessible textbook is any textbook in a format that provides students with disabilities with the features they need to read. As with other modern educational texts, accessible textbooks are available in print or a wide range of digital formats. Accessible educational materials are required by law to provide equal access to information for students with disabilities. These students face significant barriers in acquiring basic reading, writing, and math skills, which are critical for accessing higher education, developing marketable skills, and ensuring future independence and success. Beyond providing equal access, the benefits for students in being able to read a textbook are the same as reading any other material. Students are better able to learn specific topics, gain general information, develop critical thinking, and build a love of learning and reading for pleasure. Having accessible learning materials is necessary for students with disabilities to have basic education, access to future education and career opportunities, and be better informed, active, and engaged citizens. Types of Accessible Textbooks and Their Production Braille is arguably the most recognizable alternative format, and its association with education through blind... --- ### What is a Braille Printer/Embosser? Why is it So Important in Accessibility? - Published: 2024-08-15 - Modified: 2024-08-12 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-a-braille-printer-embosser-why-is-it-so-important-in-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, braille, disability The ability to read and write Braille is essential for people who are blind or visually impaired to communicate effectively. To create a Braille document, you must use a Braille printer. Braille printers collect data from computer devices and emboss that data in Braille onto paper. These printers, also known as Braille embossers, typically print on heavyweight paper. Since Braille takes up more space than traditional print, Braille printers use more pages than regular printers to print the same information.   In this blog post, we will discuss Braille printers, their importance, and some of the primary types of Braille printers. Why are Braille Printers and Braille Necessary for Inclusion? As previously mentioned, Braille printers are necessary to create Braille documents. Although modern technology, such as screen reading software, has reduced the prevalence of Braille, many blind or visually impaired people still use it worldwide. Braille documents have several advantages over screen readers. While screen readers narrate webpage content to users, Braille documents help people understand the layout and location of text on pages. Braille creates a greater sense of equality, enabling blind and visually impaired people to experience text on pages just as sighted people do. This greater sense of equality can lead to higher self-esteem for blind and visually impaired individuals. Braille is generally more useful than screen readers when learning highly visual content such as math. Since math uses many symbols to illustrate concepts, Braille codes can be used to understand these symbols. Learning Braille can also lead to greater independence for blind and... --- ### What is PDF/UA and Why is it Important? - Published: 2024-08-08 - Modified: 2024-08-10 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-pdf-ua-and-why-is-it-important/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, pdf accessibility, pdf validator PDF/UA is an accessibility standard that sets requirements and guidelines to ensure that PDF documents are accessible to all audiences. The acronym stands for Portable Document Format (PDF) Universal Accessibility (UA). To add to the list of contextual vocab, standards are primarily written by the International Organization for Standardization, which is known as ISO. PDF/UA is a PDF-specific standard that contains the requirements to ensure content is usable and readable. This standard is considered the “gold standard” for PDF document accessibility and its importance lies in offering equal access and the prioritization of sharing content with everyone. What is the difference between PDF and PDF/UA? A common question we receive is, what are the differences in various PDF standards? Should I test my document against standard ABC? Or perhaps standard XYZ? While these answers are not always cut and dry, there are, in general, two types of standards: structural and accessibility. The structural standard is essentially the rulebook for how to make a PDF. More specifically, the core structural PDF standard is ISO 32000, and it is broad and open-ended. It showcases the possibilities of the PDF file type, ensuring that components like lists and graphics are encoded correctly but doesn’t prioritize their accessibility. The accessibility standard is more specific and narrows the possibilities of PDF documents to ensure that assistive technologies can adequately share the information. This standard involves verifying document tagging and is a bit more proactive and accessibility centered. For example, if you do everything that is... --- ### Allyant Awards Scholarships to Canadians through the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC) - Published: 2024-08-06 - Modified: 2024-08-06 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-awards-scholarships-to-canadians-through-the-alliance-for-equality-of-blind-canadians-aebc/ - Categories: News Allyant proudly continues its thirteen-year tradition by awarding two $1,000 scholarships through The Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC). These scholarships are part of Allyant's ongoing commitment to supporting equity and inclusion and the educational and professional aspirations of people with visual impairments. What is Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC)? The Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC) is a national charitable organization dedicated to advocating for the rights of blind Canadians, ensuring equal participation in all aspects of society. Since its inception in 1992, AEBC has been at the forefront of efforts to eliminate barriers and promote accessibility, equality, and inclusion. This year's scholarship recipients, Catheryne Houde and Joshua Simmonds, exemplify the spirit of perseverance and dedication that AEBC and Allyant aim to foster. Catheryne Houde, one of the scholarship recipients, expressed her gratitude: "I am thrilled to receive a scholarship from Allyant, as it represents not just a financial boost but a recognition of my efforts to advocate for people with disabilities. This support will empower me to continue breaking down barriers and striving for a more inclusive and accessible society. " The second scholarship recipient, Joshua Simmonds, shared his enthusiasm: "I am incredibly grateful to receive this scholarship from Allyant. It will provide essential support for my internship at the Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay Vision Rehabilitation Center, offering me a unique opportunity to deepen my research and practical understanding of vision rehabilitation. This funding is a significant step towards advancing my work in the field. " Ariel... --- ### 5 Things to Consider Before Hiring an Alternative Format Accessibility Vendor - Published: 2024-08-01 - Modified: 2024-08-08 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/5-things-to-consider-before-hiring-an-alternative-format-accessibility-vendor/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, alt format, alternative format Vendors of accessibility services can provide excellent solutions that help you meet legal obligations without the need for your own infrastructure. This is especially true for alternative formats that require expert knowledge and specific technology. However, if you're responsible for choosing a vendor for your organization and lack experience in this area, you may struggle to narrow down your options. This article focuses on key criteria for selecting an accessibility services vendor. Familiarize Yourself with the Standards First You should familiarize yourself with the basics of accessibility standards. While you will rely on the vendor to provide accessibility services, it's important to understand their work. Most standards have easily comprehensible documentation to help you get acquainted. For example: The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) – WCAG 2 Overview Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – IT Accessibility Laws and Policies PDF/UA – PDF/UA Foundation Why PDF/UA Also, see Allyant’s What is PDF/UA and why does it matter? Does the Vendor Have an Accessibility Policy and Set of Practices? When investigating vendors, review their accessibility policy and business practices. Ensure that these align with your company’s standards. Review their website, including the posted policy and any other materials they make available to the public. Are these publicly available materials accessible to people with disabilities? Ask the vendor questions about their accessibility practices. This will give you a solid index for their ability to live up to their own accessibility policy. Can the Vendor Provide an Accessibility Conformance Report?... --- ### Choosing the Right Digital Accessibility Partner: How Digital Agencies Can Boost Client Performance and Compliance - Published: 2024-07-25 - Modified: 2024-07-29 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/choosing-the-right-digital-accessibility-partner-how-digital-agencies-can-boost-client-performance-and-compliance/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility checker, accessibility testing, web accessibility In today’s digital age, ensuring everyone can access an organization’s online content is more than just a legal requirement—it’s about creating inclusive experiences that welcome all users and grow online business and engagement. As a digital agency, your clients rely on you to build websites and applications that not only comply with increasing US and global regulations but also resonate with people from all walks of life. At Allyant, the global leader in website and PDF accessibility solutions, we can’t stress enough the importance of partnering with a specialized digital accessibility provider. Compliance is no longer optional with the recent increase in regulations from the DOJ and HHS in the United States and Canada doubling down on digital accessibility and the European Accessibility Act deadlines on the near horizon (just to name a few). Incorporating third-party live-user testing is essential to meet these rigorous standards and avoid legal pitfalls for your clients. Digital agencies must prioritize finding the right partner to navigate these complex requirements and deliver truly inclusive experiences. In this article, we will break down the importance of picking a reputable accessibility partner and the key elements that will drive long-term success for your agency. The Importance of Agencies Working with a Third-Party Accessibility Vendor for Their Clients Accessibility is a complex field that requires specialized knowledge and tools. Rather than trying to navigate a complex environment and misspeak on a topic that can be confusing while also creating real legal risk for your clients, most agencies are... --- ### What is PDF Accessibility Training and Why is it Important? - Published: 2024-07-18 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-pdf-accessibility-training-and-why-is-it-important/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, pdf accessibility, web accessibility It is important to ensure that everyone, including people with disabilities, has equal access to information. PDF documents are commonly used for publishing information online, such as bank statements, instruction manuals, and announcements. However, many PDFs are not created with accessibility in mind, making them inaccessible to people with disabilities. To make PDFs digitally accessible, it's crucial to identify and fix these issues. Therefore, PDF accessibility training is essential. What is PDF Accessibility Training? PDF accessibility training involves learning about various aspects of PDF accessibility, including accessibility standards for PDF documents, best authoring practices, creating accessible PDFs, remediating inaccessible PDFs, and testing and validating PDFs on a website, server, or database. Once you are familiar with PDF accessibility standards, training will help you fix PDFs and make them compliant with existing accessibility standards and regulations. Given below are some key aspects of PDF accessibility training: Understanding PDF Accessibility Standards Several PDF accessibility standards, such as Section 508, HHS Guidelines, and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), outline the fundamental requirements for PDFs to be considered digitally accessible according to a specific standard. Our comprehensive article provides more details on the most crucial PDF accessibility standards. Through PDF accessibility training, you will become familiar with these standards and learn how to create and design PDFs while adhering to these standards. This approach will help avoid the need for remediation at a later stage. Creating Accessible PDFs One key part of PDF accessibility training is learning how to create accessible PDFs from various... --- ### Allyant® Partners with CivicPlus® to Empower Local Governments with PDF Accessibility Remediation. - Published: 2024-07-16 - Modified: 2024-07-16 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-partners-with-civicplus-to-empower-local-governments-with-pdf-accessibility-remediation/ - Categories: News - Tags: accessibility, web accessibility The partnership aims to deliver a comprehensive suite of PDF accessibility software and remediation solutions, supporting local governments in achieving inclusivity and compliance for their digital documents. New York – July 16, 2024—In a significant move to promote digital inclusivity, Allyant®, the global leader in accessibility software and solutions, has officially announced a strategic partnership with CivicPlus®, a public sector SaaS technology solutions leader. This partnership will provide CivicPlus’ local government customers with a comprehensive suite of PDF accessibility software and remediation technology, ensuring compliance with ADA standards and enhancing the accessibility of digital documents. Earlier in 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a rule concerning criteria and technical requirements under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including accessibility compliance requirements for digital documents hosted by government entities. CivicPlus has chosen Allyant as its premier software partner for PDF accessibility to ensure that its customers can offer inclusive digital document experiences for all community members and take steps to fulfill the requirements mandated by the DOJ. "We are proud to support CivicPlus in its commitment to accessibility and dedication to product and solution innovation," stated Ariel Kunar, Chief Executive Officer at Allyant. "Allyant has a long history of working with governments on comprehensive accessibility initiatives—this partnership ensures that CivicPlus' local government customers can provide inclusive digital document experiences for all constituents. " CivicPlus and Allyant are dedicated to supporting governments in meeting ADA compliance and fostering inclusivity for all digital users. This partnership aims to empower... --- ### European Accessibility Act: What Your Organization Needs to Know - Published: 2024-07-11 - Modified: 2024-07-14 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/european-accessibility-act-what-your-organization-needs-to-know/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, pdf accessibility, web accessibility June 2025 is the deadline for businesses within the EU to meet accessibility standards outlined in The European Accessibility Act (EAA). As the deadline approaches, many B2C (including e-commerce and financial services) and software teams may begin scrambling to meet compliance. For teams that wait on driving compliance, failure to meet the EAA’s mandate will result in penalties, which can include fines. In this article, I will review what the EAA is, who the EAA applies to, steps to meet compliance, and repercussions if compliance is not met. What is the European Accessibility Act (EAA)? The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a law that will require all public sector bodies to make sure their websites, mobile applications, and software are accessible to people with disabilities. This is important timing for two reasons: The world is moving more and more digital. Now, instead of going to a bank where accessibility laws are well established in the physical domain, many users are moving to digital applications (71% of all bankers in fact). According to Columbia University’s Greying Globe Theory, soon, 1/3rd of the European Population will be greater than 60 years old. Now more than ever, people with disabilities need to have guaranteed access to the digital world, much like the physical world. With much of the European population at risk for disabilities due to age, the intent of the EAA is to tame the “wild west” that is public-sector web accessibility compliance. Who does the EAA apply to? To simplify, if... --- ### How to Implement Alternate Formats in Your Business - Published: 2024-07-04 - Modified: 2024-07-01 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-implement-alternate-formats-in-your-business/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, alt format, alternative format Every organization that deals with the public – whether in the public, private, or not-for-profit sectors – releases communications that reach the public. Examples include press releases, proposals, product documents, and plans. While these are commonly distributed online on web pages, they are also reproduced in documents, including print matter and PDF documents (which can be printed or read digitally). As with any digital communication, you need to ensure accessibility for these documents. This article discusses high-level points on how to successfully implement accessible alternate format documents into your business. Types of Alternate (alt) Formats As businesses range greatly in size, type, reach, and legal obligations, we can only cover the high-level points of how to strategize for alternate format documents. Let’s begin by covering the types of alternate formats that currently exist: Braille: Raised dots on thicker card stock in cells of up to six dots. This can be digital, but the classic printed braille requires special printing. Large Print: Printed matter with a much larger font size (“typeface”) than normal. Accessible PDF: A PDF that has been created or remediated specifically to ensure the content can be accessed by people with disabilities. Can be printed or made available digitally. Audio: Content that has been rendered into a spoken, audible recording. This can be accomplished with either a human or synthetic voice. E-text: While variable, this is generally text content without formatting, supplemental images, tables, or other such structures. This list shows that some of these formats are more... --- ### HHS Final Rule Strengthening Digital Accessibility: What Your Healthcare Organization Needs to Know - Published: 2024-06-27 - Modified: 2024-06-27 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/hhs-final-rule-may-2024-digital-accessibility-healthcare-organization/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, web accessibility The healthcare sector, specifically related to digital accessibility, came under a fair amount of scrutiny during the COVID pandemic when telehealth was forced on the high-risk individuals who needed it most. Unfortunately, many were also left out due to the inaccessibility of websites, vaccine registrations, non-accessible PDF forms to avoid in-person contact, and so forth. Perhaps, then, it is no surprise that the recent landmark final rule from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sheds significant light on modernizing and strengthening Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. With these regulations, there is certainly a path for the accessibility of the healthcare landscape set up for significant changes. This blog will explore the digital accessibility requirements for healthcare organizations and outline a strategic timeline for compliance with these new regulations. History of the Landmark Final Rule The journey towards inclusive healthcare began with the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in September 2023, inviting public comments to shape the regulations. Our team here at Allyant provided a lengthy response to each digital and document-specific requirement within these proposed regulations at that time. We saw many of our comments both assessed in this Final Rule and strongly considered based upon some of the changes implemented between the original proposed rule and the final ruling recently released. This culminated in the publication of the final rule on May 1, 2024. Ultimately, this rule aims to ensure equitable access for people with disabilities, impacting a wide range of healthcare services and settings—... --- ### My Experience of Using Web Applications as a Blind User - Published: 2024-06-20 - Modified: 2024-09-18 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/my-experience-of-using-web-applications-as-a-blind-user/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, assistive technology, disability, web accessibility My name is Aaron Page. I am Allyant’s VP of Accessibility, and I am blind. I was born with congenital glaucoma and lost my remaining functional vision 15 - 16 years ago. I want to start by stating that my experiences are my own, and they are affected by my disability, my past experiences, and the assistive technologies I use. My experience may not be the same as other blind / low-vision users, and will certainly be different from the experience persons with other disabilities, such as motor/dexterity or cognitive disabilities, may have as they try to access the web. When accessing the web, I primarily do so using the following devices and assistive technologies:  A Dell XPS 13 laptop running Windows 11 w/JAWS for Windows as the primary screen reader  An iPhone 13 Pro Max running iOS 17 w/VoiceOver as the primary screen reader. In this article, we’ll talk about what it is like to access websites and applications using the first device I mentioned above – a desktop/laptop computer running Windows and using the JAWS screen reader. What does a screen reader sound like?   For those who have never heard a screen reader in action, it can be an illuminating experience.   Below is a paragraph of text from the Allyant website, and following that is a short clip of this text being read out by my screen reader. Keep in mind that this is how my screen reader sounds when browsing websites, reading emails, etc. ,... --- ### Most Important PDF Accessibility Standards - Published: 2024-06-13 - Modified: 2024-06-19 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/most-important-pdf-accessibility-standards/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility checker, pdf accessibility As organizations dive into the often murky waters of PDF accessibility, questions on standards are inevitable. How many standards are there, and why do they exist? How do I know which standard to aim for? What are the differences between them? Where do I begin? These concerns are normal. Nobody wants to make the wrong choice, waste valuable time, or risk doing something wrong. My goal is to share the details of the different standard types, provide some of the most significant distinctions between them, advise what standards you should be using, and showcase the Allyant recommendation for guaranteeing standards compliance. Before we delve into the individual standards, let’s look at the two types of electronic document standards. Electronic Document Standards Structural standards offer guidelines for creating a PDF and checking some of its more structure-related requirements. For example, if a document has a graphical element, such as a FormXObject, a structural standard will flag it if it is not in a Figure tag. Accessibility standards address the requirements for a document to function appropriately with assistive technology and provide access to the content. For example, if that FormXObject is in a Figure tag, an accessibility standard will flag it if it is not given Alternative (or Actual) text. Both structural and accessibility standards serve specialized purposes and are crucial to overall compliance. ISO-32000 ISO-32000-1 (version 1) is a structural standard. While a more recently released structural standard (ISO 32000-2 – version 2) exists, ISO-32000-1 is the one most processors... --- ### Significance of WCAG Compliance for Organizations - Published: 2024-06-06 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/significance-of-wcag-compliance-for-organizations/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, pdf accessibility, web accessibility At Allyant, we often discuss the need for websites and mobile applications to be "WCAG compliant. " But what does it mean to be "WCAG compliant? "  This blog post will answer that question and provide background on the WCAG and who needs to follow it. What is WCAG? The Web Accessibility Initiative, a W3C project, developed the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The W3C is an international organization responsible for modern web standards such as HTML and CSS. The Web Accessibility Initiative specifically focuses on digital accessibility. The guidelines were developed "with a goal of providing a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally. " The first edition of the WCAG, known as WCAG 1. 0, was released in 1999. WCAG 1. 0 was pretty restrictive and was just a checklist of things to do to make your website accessible. WCAG 2. 0 was released in 2008 and was updated to include 12 guidelines and 61 success criteria to assess digital accessibility, allowing for far more flexibility. Another update, WCAG 2. 1, was released in 2018 and included an additional guideline and 17 new success criteria. Finally, WCAG 2. 2 was released in October 2023, adding nine success criteria. WCAG 2. 2 contains 13 guidelines and 86 success criteria (one WCAG 2. 1 success criterion was removed from 2. 2). The WCAG has four overarching principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. There are three compliance levels: A, AA, and... --- ### Crafting Effective Accessibility Statements: Embracing DOJ Mandates and Section 508 with Allyant's Guidance - Published: 2024-05-30 - Modified: 2024-12-06 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-accessibility-statement-how-to-create-it-website/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, web accessibility With the U. S. Department of Justice finalizing a new rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act to enhance web and mobile application accessibility for people with disabilities, the imperative for digital accessibility has intensified. This DOJ rule mandates that state and local governments ensure their digital content is accessible, encompassing a broad range of public services accessed through the web and mobile platforms.   Furthermore, Section 508 has documented the requirement for federal agencies to develop and publish an Accessibility Statement on all public-facing websites.   Allyant is poised at the vanguard, ready to navigate organizations through the complex task of developing an Accessibility Statement. What is an Accessibility Statement? An Accessibility Statement is a public commitment to digital accessibility for individuals with disabilities. It's an active plan that narrates your journey toward an inclusive digital space.   Once published, this statement becomes an enforceable pledge, where inaccuracies can expose your organization to lawsuits and in some cases, fines.  This underscores the necessity for mapping out a clear and honest plan that your organization will work towards in your Accessibility Statement.   Essential Components of an Effective Accessibility Statement  Your Accessibility Statement should encompass the following:  Accessibility Assistance: Specify clear methods for users to seek assistance or report accessibility issues, ensuring that contact details are readily accessible. For instance, we consult our clients and include a phone number and email that is actively monitored like any other customer support channels. Additionally, of course, it is critical that these support links are accessible with proper mark-up for a... --- ### Global Accessibility Regulations: What Applies to Your Organization? - Published: 2024-05-23 - Modified: 2024-12-10 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/global-accessibility-regulations-what-applies-to-your-organization/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, pdf accessibility, web accessibility The start of 2024 has been a groundbreaking year in the digital accessibility space. From state laws like Colorado’s HB21-1110 going into effect, to the Department of Justice and US Department of Health and Human Services mandating accessibility, the spotlight on accessible design has never been brighter. For some teams and advocates, this could be remembered as the accessibility renaissance. For teams that fail to adapt quickly, this could usher in the dark ages for their roadmaps. Now more than ever, accessibility isn’t just the right thing to do—it's the law. But more than ever, the law that affects your team may be confusing. In this article, I will discuss the different accessibility laws that impact this space. The foundation of all accessibility laws generally link back to the WCAG guidelines and success criteria, so if you aren’t familiar with those I’d suggest you start here: WCAG 2. 2 Explained with Examples. “I manage a public-facing website, like an eCommerce shop or marketing page. ” The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the law in the United States that specifically addresses the accessibility of public websites for people with disabilities. The ADA was enacted in 1990 primarily to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life—including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. However, its application to websites has been interpreted through various legal cases and Department of Justice rulings. In recent years, there have been legal... --- ### Allyant Celebrates the 13th AnnualGlobal Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) - Published: 2024-05-16 - Modified: 2024-05-21 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-celebrates-the-13th-annualglobal-accessibility-awareness-day-gaad/ - Categories: News - Tags: accessibility, web accessibility May 16, 2024, marks the 13th anniversary of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), a day dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of digital access and inclusion for the more than one billion people worldwide with disabilities. Allyant is proud to join the global community in celebrating this momentous occasion, reflecting on the progress and work ahead to create a truly inclusive world. GAAD, observed annually on the third Thursday of May, is a pivotal event encouraging discussions, reflections, and learning about digital accessibility. It reminds us of the crucial need to make digital platforms inclusive for all, fostering collaboration and inspiring collective efforts to ensure that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can access and benefit from digital technology. This year marks a growing positive wave towards accessibility, with increasing awareness and proactive measures being taken by organizations and governments alike. For instance, this year's GAAD celebration is particularly significant due to recent advancements in accessibility legislation in the United States. On Monday, April 8, 2024, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland signed a final rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), clarifying the obligations of state and local governments to make their websites and mobile applications accessible. This rule ensures that people with disabilities can access critical services such as emergency information, healthcare, education, and voting information, which are increasingly delivered through digital means. Without accessible technologies, individuals with disabilities are at risk of being excluded from essential public services that others routinely use. Additionally, on... --- ### Is Large Print Considered Assistive Technology (AT)? - Published: 2024-05-16 - Modified: 2024-05-21 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/is-large-print-considered-assistive-technology-at/ - Categories: Accessible Technology, Articles - Tags: alt format, alternative format, assistive technology, large print Large Print is one of Allyant’s core service offerings. We can produce print or digital text documents in which the font size (or “typeface”) is much larger than the average font size and is specifically intended for use by people with low vision. It is one of our alternative format offerings, a term for document versions intended for users with disabilities.   Read more: What are alternative formats, and why are they so important? One question that often arises is whether large print falls under the category of assistive technology. Let's clarify this distinction. Assistive Technology: The official definition While the term “alternative formats” implies that such documents are an alternative where an original version will not suffice, “assistive technology” can be a bit vague.   The U. S. federal government defines assistive technology as: "... any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. " This is a very wide definition: it can include literally “any item”. The most significant part of the definition is how it is used: to paraphrase, it can preserve or amplify the ability of persons with disabilities to perform a wide variety of activities. Can Large Print therefore increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities? Large Print and users with partial vision Our society includes persons with visual disabilities who are not blind but have some degree of vision: depending... --- ### What is Included in the Purview of Web Accessibility Services? - Published: 2024-05-09 - Modified: 2024-05-21 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-web-accessibility-services-explained-examples-significance/ - Categories: Accessible Technology, Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility checker, accessibility testing, web accessibility At Allyant, we provide comprehensive accessibility solutions, including expert web accessibility services. In this blog post, we will discuss the term “web accessibility services” and what is included under the umbrella of web accessibility services – including some key elements that your team should consider when selecting a third-party vendor to support your web accessibility goals. What exactly are Web Accessibility services? Web accessibility services, as the name implies, are solutions that help ensure that people with various disabilities have equitable access to the Internet.  These can include standard websites, mobile responsive websites accessed through a mobile browser, or more complex web applications such as a Learning Management System, HR-related services, or Healthcare Service Platforms, to name a few.   More broadly, this is commonly referred to as Digital Accessibility Services, which is a catch-all term for these diverse web-based access points. A primary web accessibility service offered by niche expert solutions is web accessibility auditing, which involves thoroughly reviewing websites or web applications for accessibility errors. In most scenarios, an error would be defined mainly as failing to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) or a usability barrier outlined by an assistive technology user. During web accessibility audits, accessibility issues are tracked and reported to the organization requesting the audit. Assuming the audit and related services are done thoroughly, the client should have clear information and knowledge that outlines their website violations and an explicit recommendation of how to resolve those issues with examples of accessible code or components.   This will ensure... --- ### Allyant Launches Program to Support HHS's New Rule Clarifying Accessibility Requirements for Federally Funded Healthcare and Human Services. - Published: 2024-05-02 - Modified: 2024-05-02 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-launches-program-to-support-hhss-new-rule-clarifying-accessibility-requirements-for-federally-funded-healthcare-and-human-services/ - Categories: News - Tags: accessibility, ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act, electronic documents, government, HHS, mobile, wcag 2.1, web New York, May 2, 2024—Allyant, a world leader in accessibility solutions, announced today the unveiling of its new healthcare-centric program in response to the recent rule by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) aimed at advancing access to healthcare and human services for individuals with disabilities. Allyant's program offers a comprehensive suite of accessibility solutions to help federal agencies and recipients of HHS funding achieve digital inclusivity and compliance across their health and human services programs. Allyant's program encompasses a range of software, services, and training tailored to empower organizations to deliver accessible websites, mobile apps, and electronic and printed documents to their program beneficiaries. Additionally, it facilitates the procurement of accessibility-compliant software from technology vendors that support the delivery of those programs. The new HHS rule updates and clarifies requirements under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and joins the recent Department of Justice (DOJ) rule under Title II of the ADA in confirming the requirements and technical standards for delivering accessible experiences. While the DOJ rule applies to state and local governments, the HHS rule applies to health and human services entities receiving federal assistance. Like the DOJ rule, the HHS rule adopts WCAG 2. 1 AA as the technical standard for web content—including web pages, PDFs, graphics, and media files—mobile apps, and kiosk interfaces. Additionally, the HHS rule aims to ensure consistency with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), including a requirement for funding recipients to provide auxiliary aids—such as braille,... --- ### What is Electronic Braille? - Published: 2024-05-02 - Modified: 2024-05-02 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-electronic-braille/ - Categories: Accessible Technology, Articles - Tags: accessibility, assistive technology, braille, disability Blind and visually impaired people (and others) worldwide use braille daily to communicate with others. In addition to hard-copy braille, blind and visually impaired people may use electronic braille.   Electronic braille, sometimes referred to as soft braille, is in a specially formatted document. It can be read with braille notetakers or electronic braille machines. Two primary types of electronic braille files are BRF (Formatted Braille) and PEF (Portable Embosser Format).   Both file types include braille signs. Since electronic braille is a digital file containing a document already written in braille, there is no need for further braille conversion. How can I read electronic braille? Braille users can read electronic braille with a screen reader and refreshable braille display. Users can open electronic braille files with regular word processing or text editing programs such as Windows Notepad or Microsoft Word. Users can then read the text with the usual navigation keys, using either the screen reader or refreshable braille display. Users can also read electronic braille with stand-alone braille notetakers. Using a braille notetaker, you can load an electronic braille file onto the notetaker (it does not have to be connected to a computer). Users can then read the text using standard navigation keys on their notetakers. Sighted people may also like to read braille. They can read electronic braille visually on a computer screen through a braille translation package. If they do not have a braille translation package, they can still read electronic braille visually by loading the file into a word... --- ### 3 Things I Learned at CSUN 2024 as a User with Vision Impairment - Published: 2024-04-25 - Modified: 2024-04-25 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/3-things-i-learned-at-csun-2024-as-a-user-with-vision-impairment/ - Categories: Accessible Technology, Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, CSUN 2024, web accessibility This year, I had the privilege of presenting at CSUN 2024 on multiple topics on behalf of Allyant. In addition to the excellent opportunity to network and discuss Allyant’s solutions, CSUN was also a great opportunity to attend sessions and learn about various topics and developments in the accessibility industry.   In this article, I would like to highlight three things that were either completely new information to me or that really helped expand my knowledge in a particular area regarding accessibility.   HECVATs  One session I attended that I found particularly informative was “Security + A11y: Streamlining Higher Ed Vendor Reviews” during which the Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit (HECVAT) was discussed.   This is not a form of accessibility documentation commonly seen in the industry, certainly when compared to VPATs and ACRs. Still, HECVATs have been gaining interest among accessibility professionals, primarily due to their unique approach of integrating product accessibility questions into the same form vendors use to provide information on data privacy and security.   An important fact regarding HECVATs, which I was unaware of until this session, is that the HECVAT template is broken into two versions: a “full” version and a “lite” version. Still, both versions contain the same 12 specific questions related to accessibility.  If you are, therefore, less interested in the details regarding data privacy and security, and if your primary focus is on the product’s accessibility, then the “lite” version of the HECVAT will work for you. For more information on the HECVAT, see the... --- ### Do I Need to Make My Website Material Available in Braille? - Published: 2024-04-18 - Modified: 2024-04-18 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/do-i-need-to-make-my-website-material-available-in-braille/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, braille, web accessibility Individuals who are unable to see or have difficulty with their vision often use braille (a system of raised dots that represent words) to access printed material. Though braille is essential for print accessibility, it is not required for website content.   Instead, individuals who are blind or visually impaired rely on screen readers and magnifiers to navigate the internet. Make sure your website is coded correctly Websites and mobile apps must be coded correctly to ensure equitable digital experiences. Screen reading technology cannot interpret incorrect code, making it difficult or even impossible for blind or visually impaired users to navigate online successfully.   For example, use semantic HTML whenever possible. Semantic HTML includes using tags at the start and end of each paragraph and tags (with alt text if appropriate) to denote images.  ARIA can also be used with non-semantic HTML to improve accessibility. Our expert digital accessibility auditing team can help ensure your website complies with industry standards. Refreshable braille displays Some screen reader users also use refreshable braille displays (RBDs).  RBDs are used with screen readers in these situations. RBDs convert the text being read by screen readers into braille.   Even though these users use braille to interact with digital content, the material still does not need to be made available in braille since the written text is read by a screen reader before being translated into braille. As with just screen readers, websites only need to be coded correctly for RBD/screen reader users. Since people who are deafblind generally... --- ### My Experience Using Assistive Technology as an Indie Game Developer - Published: 2024-04-11 - Modified: 2024-06-04 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/my-experiences-of-using-assistive-technology-as-an-indie-game-developer/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, disability, web accessibility I’ve been an avid gamer since I was about three years old, playing Super Mario, Zelda, and Duck Hunt on my Dad’s original Nintendo. I’d eventually graduate to Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and the Nintendo 64 when it first came out in the mid-nineties. Onset of vision-related issues When I was seven years old, I started having trouble seeing what was written on the chalkboard at school. I worked with an optometrist, trying to get a prescription for glasses that would help, but with no success. I’d eventually go through a series of ophthalmologists before winding up with the diagnosis of Stargardts, a form of Macular Degeneration that causes loss of central vision. “Wait, so not everyone has a little blob of light in the middle of their vision that acts like a targeting reticle in a first-person video game? ” was a sentence I recall uttering when all this was explained to me. Vision services and assistive technology (AT) at school I received vision services at school right away. I started learning Braille, assistive technology, and screen readers. Little did I know at the time I’d one day make a career out of this. I’d continue these kinds of vision services throughout my school years. Single-digit JAWS versions faded into double-digit JAWS versions, bulky magnification equipment became smaller, and I’d dabble in GPS navigators and OCR devices like the good ol’ KNFB reader. My gaming experience I still continued to game. My vision has stayed relatively stable my entire... --- ### Allyant Launches a Government-Specific Program to Support the DOJ's New Rule Requiring State and Local Governments to Improve Accessibility for Web, Mobile, and Electronic Documents. - Published: 2024-04-09 - Modified: 2024-04-09 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-launches-a-government-specific-program-to-support-the-dojs-new-rule-requiring-state-and-local-governments-to-improve-accessibility-for-web-mobile-and-electronic-documents/ - Categories: News - Tags: accessibility, ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act, Department of Justice, DOJ, electronic documents, government, mobile, wcag 2.1, web New York, April 9, 2024—Today, Allyant, a global leader in accessibility solutions, unveiled a specialized program tailored for government entities. This initiative aims to aid state and local governments in aligning with the recently announced rule by the Department of Justice (DOJ), which outlines the criteria and technical specifications for fulfilling obligations under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).   Allyant's government-centric program offers a range of accessibility solutions dedicated to supporting federal, state, and local governments in achieving digital inclusivity and compliance. These solutions include software, services, and training that empower government entities to deliver accessible websites, mobile apps, and electronic documents to their constituents, as well as procure accessibility-compliant software from their technology vendors. Under Title II of the ADA, state and local governments must make their services, activities, and programs accessible to people with disabilities. Until now, no established rules have provided state and local governments with clear guidance for achieving accessibility compliance in the digital environment. The new DOJ rule aims to eliminate uncertainty by mandating adherence to The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2. 1, Level AA technical standards, and ensuring consistency in enforcing the rule across all governmental organizations. A fact sheet detailing information regarding the rule can be found here: https://www. ada. gov/notices/2024/03/08/web-rule/. The implications of this rule extend far beyond mere compliance. By aligning with this rule, public entities will significantly enhance access to employment opportunities, educational resources, voting information, healthcare services, and more for individuals with disabilities. This... --- ### What is Large Print and Why is it Important? - Published: 2024-04-04 - Modified: 2024-04-04 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-large-print-why-use-importance-font-size/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, alt format, large print Large Print (also large print, large-print, large font, and large type) is the term for print or digital text documents in which the font size/typeface is much larger than standard font size. A larger font size makes reading easier for people with low vision. Like braille, large print is an alternative format, which applies to a document formatted or printed specifically for users with disabilities. People with visual impairments—from color blindness to complete blindness—can greatly benefit from having access to content presented in alternative formats that cater to their specific needs. Large print font size Most books (excluding children’s books) use 10 to 12-point type, whereas newspapers are often 8-point type. For reference, the print industry measures type size in points that range from the bottom of the lowest letter to the tallest capital letter. Different font types with the same point size will still appear differently. The minimum font size for large print is usually 16 to 18-point. The U. S. Postal Service offers services under the term “Free Matter for the Blind”: the minimum size for their mailing standard is 14-point type. The large print guidelines from the American Council for the Blind recommend a base font size of 18 points, with the main heading at 22 points and subheadings at 20 points. Some essential considerations Large print includes other considerations besides font size alone. These include: using sans-serif font families, such as Arial or Verdana; these use simpler characters that are easier to distinguish;  providing ample spacing between characters... --- ### What is Nesting in PDF Accessibility and Why is it Important? - Published: 2024-03-28 - Modified: 2024-03-28 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-nesting-in-pdf-accessibility-and-why-is-it-important/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, pdf accessibility, pdf validator When we refer to the nesting of tags, we are talking about the presence of tags inside other tags. Synonymously, when a tag contains other tags, that “parent” tag is said to contain a “substructure. ” And, when it comes to PDF tagging, there are “containment,” or nesting rules, around what tags are allowed – or even required – to be nested inside other tags. That said, this may or may not be a concept you must pay much attention to in your day-to-day PDF remediation work, depending on the content of your documents. For example, if your documents are relatively simple, the only nesting you may have in your tags is the Document tag containing all other tags in the PDF. The Document tag is required to be the first, and only, child of the Tags root. All of the other tags in a document should be nested inside that Document tag. Of course, you'll need to be aware of some additional nesting rules in more complex documents with Tables of Contents, footnotes, lists, or tables. However, with some guidance, recognizing proper PDF tag nesting and correctly implementing this nesting can become second nature within your PDF remediation workflow. What is tag nesting and how does it impact PDF accessibility? PDF tags are the behind-the-scenes containers that determine, among other things, how a PDF document is read by assistive technology.   If tags are inaccurate or in an incorrect order, the reading experience could be, at best, confusing and, at... --- ### Understanding VPATs and Their Importance in University Partnerships - Published: 2024-03-21 - Modified: 2024-06-04 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/understanding-vpats-and-their-importance-in-university-partnerships/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, education, vpat There has been an influx of accessibility-related questions for both education customers and organizations that sell to education institutions. Every week, I have several conversations with universities and software companies, stating, “We’re being asked to solve accessibility. Where should we start? ” This isn’t surprising since many organizations have to tighten their accessibility belts, given the OMB’s Call-To-Action, which is beginning to trickle down to the state level.   States like Colorado have passed HB21-1110, which requires state entities, like universities and K-12 schools, to ensure all their digital properties have been assessed for compliance with a clear remediation roadmap by July 1st, 2024.   Rhode Island is looking to follow in Colorado’s footsteps, having proposed similar laws and deadlines come 2025!   Even states that do not have formal accessibility laws, such as Texas, have many educational institutions requiring proof of digital accessibility. It is clear that accessibility is not going anywhere in the education space, so in the article, I will discuss the role of a VPAT in education procurement. What is a VPAT? VPAT stands for Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT). At its core, a VPAT provides an analysis of how a product or service conforms to accessibility standards, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the U. S. Section 508 standards. The report provides a detailed breakdown of accessibility factors, covering software interfaces, documentation, and support services. The goal is to enable all users to use the product or service effectively regardless of their abilities. We... --- ### WebAIM Screen Reader Survey #10: Key Takeaways for 2024 and Beyond - Published: 2024-03-14 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/webaim-screen-reader-survey-10-key-takeaways-for-2024-and-beyond/ - Categories: Articles, Education, Government - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, pdf accessibility, web accessibility WebAIM recently released the tenth edition of its annual survey on screen reader preferences. This survey, which took place in December and January, provides us with amazing insight into the preferences and usage rates of those who use screen reader technology daily. The report is highly detailed and has vast content, so our team strongly recommends reviewing the entire Survey Results on the WebAIM site.   After analyzing this year’s survey results, we wanted to provide an overview of our key takeaways and some key trends compared to previous studies. Some context on the survey that adds additional and exciting data points to the results, compared to previous years, is that the WebAIM team noted achieving better global representation in this year's data. Survey respondents were from a much more diverse global geography than in years past.   Furthermore, in this year's version, there was a significant increase in users from the age group of 60 or older compared to previous years. This highlights the importance of considering website accessibility efforts for diverse age groups. Overall, this year’s survey included 1,539 valid responses, with some of our key takeaways outlined below. Mobile Usage among Respondents It is no surprise that ‘mobile-first’ continues to be a trend among technology users worldwide, with many teams developing a mobile-first mindset more frequently across many industries. Mobile usage has also continued to rise significantly among screen reader users in recent years, with 91. 3% of respondents to this year’s survey reporting using a screen reader... --- ### My Experience of Navigating the Web as a Blind User - Published: 2024-03-07 - Modified: 2024-07-31 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/my-experience-of-navigating-the-web-as-a-blind-user/ - Categories: Accessible Technology, Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, disability, web accessibility My name is Aaron Page. I am Allyant’s Director of Accessibility, and I am blind. I was born with congenital glaucoma and lost my remaining functional vision 15 - 16 years ago. I want to start by stating that my experiences are my own, and they are affected by my disability, my past experiences, and the assistive technologies I use. My experience may not be the same as other blind / low-vision users, and will certainly be different from the experience persons with other disabilities, such as motor/dexterity or cognitive disabilities, may have as they try to access the Web. When accessing the Web, I primarily do so using the following devices and assistive technologies:  A Dell XPS 13 laptop running Windows 11 w/JAWS for Windows as the primary screen reader  An iPhone 13 Pro Max running iOS 17 w/VoiceOver as the primary screen reader. In this article, we’ll talk about what it is like to access websites and applications using the first device I mentioned above – a desktop/laptop computer running Windows and using the JAWS screen reader. What does a screen reader sound like?   For those who have never heard a screen reader in action, it can be an illuminating experience.   Below is a paragraph of text from the Allyant website, and following that is a short clip of this text being read out by my screen reader. Keep in mind that this is how my screen reader sounds when browsing websites, reading emails, etc. ,... --- ### How Accessible is Fitness for Users with Vision Impairment? - Published: 2024-02-29 - Modified: 2024-03-08 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-accessible-is-fitness-for-users-with-vision-impairment/ - Categories: Accessible Technology, Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, disability, web accessibility Maintaining proper physical fitness is crucial for everyone's well-being. For individuals with visual impairments, achieving fitness can be a daunting task, especially if technology is involved. This article discusses the accessibility (or lack of it) of four popular fitness choices. Apple Watch The Apple Watch is the most accessible fitness-tracking device for people with visual impairments. The primary reason is that VoiceOver, Apple’s built-in screen reader, works just as well with the Apple Watch as with the iPhone. This makes it simple for people with vision impairments to track their fitness progress. The Apple Watch has several other accessibility features for the visually impaired. For example, it allows users to customize on-screen text. Zoom is the Apple Watch's screen magnifier, allowing for magnification of up to 15 times the default screen size. This makes Zoom accessible for people with a wide range of vision impairments. The Apple Watch also has visual enhancement features. Although the Apple Watch accessibility features aren't explicitly designed for fitness use, they can be used throughout the Apple Watch, including its fitness tracking features. Ring Fit Adventure Ring Fit Adventure is an interactive Nintendo Switch video game that incorporates exercise. Although the game is not specifically designed to be accessible to people with visual impairments, it mainly involves listening and, therefore, does not require much vision to play. This means that those with visual impairments can use it relatively easily. Since the game can be played from home, it serves as a good exercise alternative for those with... --- ### What are Alternative Formats? - Published: 2024-02-22 - Modified: 2024-08-01 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-alternative-formats-why-important-alt-formats-examples/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: alt format, alternative format, braille The term "alternative formats" refers to printed and electronic versions of documents intended for users with disabilities. In both print and digital environments, certain users may be unable to read text. These users can benefit from having the document content represented in different ways. There are a variety of disabilities that can prevent a given user from reading either a printed or digital document. These can include: Blindness. Low vision, such as partial sight or tunnel vision. Color vision disabilities can affect the legibility of certain foreground colors against the background (i. e. , color contrast). Cognitive conditions such as dyslexia or learning disabilities. Cognitive conditions that arise from traumatic brain injuries. Why are alternative formats important? The way document content is presented must be modified to accommodate people with varying disabilities. There are several alternative formats available to make the content universally accessible. This may involve changing how the content is presented or even transcribing it into a different media altogether. As the amount and variety of information available in print and digital forms continue to increase, providing equal access to all users has become vital. This is particularly important as the number of people with disabilities is expected to grow alongside the aging population of North America. Therefore, alternative formats have gained significant importance as they offer everyone the best and most personalized access to information. Allyant has a great deal of experience creating and remediating alternative format documents: we have seen an increase in their availability in... --- ### OMB's Call-To-Action: The Role of Section 508 in Accessible Procurement - Published: 2024-02-15 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/ombs-call-to-action-the-role-of-section-508-in-accessible-procurement/ - Categories: Accessible Technology, Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessible procurement, procureensure, procurement, section 508, web accessibility The significance of Section 508 is on the rise in 2024. Its origins date back to 1998 when the U. S. Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to ensure electronic and ICT products within federal agencies were accessible to individuals with disabilities. Despite 25 years since its inception, the 2023 celebration of Section 508 was less than triumphant. The US Department of Justice and General Services Administration's report to Congress unveiled alarming findings, including the inaccessibility of one-third of PDFs and 13% of agencies admitting to not testing intranet pages at all. In response to this report, the United States Government has intensified its efforts to ensure agencies focus on procuring accessible technology. Initiatives such as allocating over $500 million for customer experience modernization and implementing recent management requirements for Section 508 compliance reflect the government's commitment to addressing these accessibility challenges. In essence, for businesses aiming to cater to the largest customer globally, the U. S. Government, digital accessibility poses an inevitable roadblock. The question for many teams has quickly shifted to: What criteria does the government seek, and how can an organization increase its chances of winning more business?   The lengthy memorandum released by the Office of Management and Budget in late 2023 made it clear that Section 508 conformance must be more stringently managed and monitored, which creates WCAG 2. 0 AA as the baseline minimum. Being Section 508 Compliant This article explains the role of Section 508 in the procurement process, so it would only be complete with a summary of... --- ### OMB’s Release on Strengthening Digital Accessibility and Section 508 Management - Published: 2024-02-08 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/ombs-release-on-strengthening-digital-accessibility-and-section-508-management/ - Categories: Accessible Technology, Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, web accessibility On December 21, 2023, the Office of Management released a memorandum, M-24-08, directed to all Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies of the U. S. Federal Government that should act as a positive step in helping digital access for people with disabilities living across the U. S. More specifically, the memorandum’s goal was to help strengthen the implementation of accessibility standards outlined in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which is intended to apply to all federal government agencies and technology environments. In this article, we will break down key aspects of this memorandum and the specific timelines for action outlined within. Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Role For background, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) releases memoranda to guide federal agencies on various topics. More specifically, OMB acts as a government agency that serves the President of the United States to oversee the implementation of their vision.   OMB’s defined mission is to assist the President in meeting policy, budget, management, and regulatory objectives and to fulfill the agency’s statutory responsibilities. Relative to this memorandum, it is outlined within that this rescinds all previous memorandum releases by OMB on this specific topic. This is specifically important to note, as the most recent release on this topic was all the way back in 2013. Who is required to follow this memorandum?   M-24-08, for simplicity’s sake, essentially extends Section 508 compliance and defines a more specific roadmap to conformance. As referenced, this memorandum applies to any federal government... --- ### What are Headings and How Should I Use Them for Web Accessibility? - Published: 2024-02-01 - Modified: 2024-02-01 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-are-headings-and-how-should-i-use-them-for-web-accessibility-2/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, web accessibility The proper use of headings when creating a webpage is essential to website accessibility. Proper heading structure is one of the first steps to take to achieve a fully accessible, easy-to-read document. This blog post will discuss headings, heading levels, and best practices concerning headings and building accessible content. Headings explained A heading is a text that describes a section of content within a web page. The text above, “Headings explained,” is a heading because it describes this section of text explaining headings. The blog post's title, "What are headings, and how should I use them for web accessibility? ” is also a heading. When used properly, headings can provide multiple benefits. They can make it easier for screen reader users to search web pages or digital documents for specific content. Screen readers can navigate by headings and heading levels, allowing users to jump directly to the information they need without listening to the entire page. Headings also help visually separate text, which can be particularly useful for individuals with cognitive disabilities. These users and many others may need assistance focusing on the content without these visual separators. Heading levels There are six different heading levels.   A level 1 heading, , is typically used with the document title. In the case of this article, the text “What are headings, and how should I use them for web accessibility? ” is a level 1 heading. A level 2 heading, , is used before each major section of text. The levels... --- ### Colorado’s Accessibility Law HB21-1110 Explained - Published: 2024-01-25 - Modified: 2024-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/colorados-accessibility-law-hb21-1110-explained/ - Categories: Accessible Technology, Articles, Government - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, pdf accessibility, web accessibility In 2021, the Colorado government formally passed the bill known as HB21-1110. This is more formally known as Colorado Laws for Persons with Disabilities, with the core goal of removing access barriers and discrimination against individuals with disabilities.   Specifically for most government entities in Colorado, this put much more emphasis on ensuring digital accessibility requirements were formalized with a clear action plan to ensure compliance by the state. Fast forward nearly three years and government entities must now act swiftly to ensure they are following the OITs requirements, as HB21-1110 put forth a formal compliance date of July 1, 2024. For starters, if you’re a Colorado Government entity reading this and stressing about the upcoming compliance requirement date, do not panic! Digital Accessibility is an ongoing process, so no date, regardless of law, is an end-all, be-all for digital accessibility.   Digital Accessibility as defined by HB21-1110 In order to comply with HB21-1110, Colorado entities must understand what the law covers. The Colorado OIT has published an FAQ to provide guidance, but it's essential to note that accessibility requirements apply to all technology, hardware, and software that government entities provide. This includes, but is not limited to: Websites Applications Documents Videos Third-party tools A few key areas within this are important to call out. First, OIT doubled down on the fact that this pertains to all digital content throughout the FAQ details. Of specific importance, this means not only ensuring your website or application is accessible but all digital documents (PDFs, Word... --- ### Limitations of an Automated-Only Web Accessibility Plan - Published: 2024-01-18 - Modified: 2024-01-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/limitations-of-an-automated-only-web-accessibility-plan/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, web accessibility When it comes to building a comprehensive web accessibility plan, many teams find themselves assessing live-user testing in comparison with automated testing. In reality, if usability, compliance with the WCAG Compliance, and risk mitigation are the ultimate goals, this should not be a decision of one or the other. The only proven process for ensuring an equitable digital experience is pairing manual testing, which includes people living with disabilities, such as native screen readers, in tandem with automated testing as part of a long-term accessibility approach. In this blog, we will focus on the limitations of an automated-only web accessibility plan to highlight the need to lead with live-user testing. It is undeniable that automated accessibility testing tools play a significant role in identifying certain accessibility issues, and they should be incorporated into a comprehensive digital accessibility strategy. However, it is important to note that they cannot present a complete and comprehensive overview of web or mobile accessibility barriers for end-users, nor can they guarantee risk mitigation. Automated testing tools can effectively find issues such as missing alternative text for images, empty form labels, or improper use of heading levels. However, they cannot replicate the experience of using a website or mobile app with a disability or identify the comprehensive set of accessibility outlined in WCAG 2. 1. Here are some examples of accessibility issues that automated testing tools may not detect. Inaccessible User Experiences Automated testing tools may not identify issues with complex design functions that make it challenging... --- ### 7 Common PDF Accessibility and Remediation Mistakes - Published: 2024-01-11 - Modified: 2024-01-10 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/7-common-pdf-accessibility-and-remediation-mistakes/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, pdf accessibility, pdf validator PDF documents are highly preferred by authors prioritizing accessibility because of their portability and accessibility benefits. PDFs offer a consistent visual experience for readers, regardless of the platform from which the file is accessed. Furthermore, PDFs have robust support in the world of digital accessibility compared to other file types. PDF provides the advantage of accessibility not being tied to the document's appearance. However, PDFs can fall short if not properly created, making them inaccessible. As authors remediate or make the files accessible, there are some common mistakes that even the newest remediators can be on the lookout for and quickly master. Reading Order In a PDF file, the reading order is the most critical component related to how the content is shared.   What if the conclusion of the document is read before the introduction? What if a story’s plot twist is uncovered before meeting the characters?   Content can change dramatically based on the order in which it is shared, and the reading order is determined by the order of the tags in the Tags tree. It is this order that assistive technologies (AT), such as screen readers, navigate through to read the content.   This interface is hidden behind the scenes and is up to remediators to verify. Sometimes, a file comes through logically and in the correct order straight from generation, but that is increasingly unlikely and typically requires manual correction.   To check for accuracy, a remediator should navigate, tag-by-tag, through the tree and ensure... --- ### Advantages of Braille and Braille Keyboards - Published: 2024-01-04 - Modified: 2024-01-02 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/advantages-of-braille-keyboards-useful-helpful/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, braille, web accessibility Knowing how to read and write braille is a valuable skill, especially for people with vision loss who rely on braille to comprehend information and communicate. Braille keyboards and refreshable braille displays are two primary devices people use to read and write braille. This blog post will explore five advantages of braille keyboards (and, by extension, braille itself). Braille helps users to better understand how text is formatted Learning braille allows blind and visually impaired people to understand how text is formatted on a page. Unlike listening to a screen reader, which narrates the contents of pages to users, braille documents teach people where text is located on different pages. This can lead to greater equality, as people with vision loss can experience text on pages like many sighted people.   For instance, understanding how braille is formatted can help manage bank statements written in braille. This greater equality can improve self-esteem among people with vision loss since they can fully engage with written text like most people. Of course, braille keyboards are often used to create braille documents. Braille helps in learning highly visual content Braille is helpful when learning highly visual content, such as in the fields of math and science. These areas of study often use symbols to illustrate concepts, etc.   Blind and visually impaired people who understand braille can use braille codes to understand the material being taught. As a result, braille is often necessary for people with vision loss to understand math and other... --- ### Top 4 Things to Look for in a PDF Accessibility Checker - Published: 2023-12-14 - Modified: 2023-12-06 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/top-4-things-to-look-for-in-a-pdf-accessibility-checker/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility checker, accessibility testing, pdf validator In the world of PDF accessibility testing, there are more than a few options that can supposedly help you verify the compliance of your PDF.   While various testers will boast claims of efficiency and ease of use, the reality is that there are specific mechanisms built into some of the more capable testers that you will want to make sure you’re utilizing.   Regardless of which tester you use, it’s worth ensuring that they support some of these game-changing capabilities. Specific Standard Choice When checking the accessibility of PDFs, one of the most common shortcomings of some checkers is having general or more vague testing criteria. The challenge here is that not only do laws require accessibility against highly specific, individual standards, but remediators must be able to verify that they are checking against them. For example, most of the healthcare industry in the United States strives for compliance with HHS, a standard based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, created specifically for the US Department of Health and Human Services. If your standard checker does not give you the explicit option to test against HHS, it is unlikely to verify some of the HHS-specific checkpoints you will need. In short, when choosing an accessibility tester, ensure that it allows you to test against individual, up-to-date standards rather than just triggering a more general “accessibility check. ” Manual Verification Checkpoints There are plenty of accessibility requirements that a machine, or a computer in this case, has the ability to test. These... --- ### ProcureEnsure: Solving the Challenge of Accessibility Reviews in Procurement - Published: 2023-12-07 - Modified: 2023-11-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/procure-accessible-software-technology-accessibility-procure-ensure/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, web accessibility The focus on digital accessibility has increased with the evolution of technology and connected customers. Many teams are now more mature in achieving compliance and usability. However, we have now moved into the intersection of digital accessibility, or lack thereof, when making purchasing decisions on software and technology. In the realm of procurement, where organizations make critical decisions about the technologies they adopt for their consumers or employees, the role of accessibility reviews has gained significantly more awareness in the past year.   Accessibility needs to be more than a checkbox for procurement teams, but it also comes with significant challenges ensuring organizations are empowering their procurement teams with the resources and knowledge to ensure this can be managed effectively. Within this article, we will outline the compelling reasons why integrating accessibility reviews into the procurement process is not just a legal obligation but a strategic imperative that paves the way for a more equitable, diverse, and forward-thinking future.   Importance of accessibility in procurement When procuring goods, making accessibility a core consideration is strategically valuable beyond legal compliance. At this point, where digital experiences shape our interactions, personally and professionally, purchasing teams play a pivotal role in shaping the inclusivity of those experiences.   Prioritizing accessibility in the procurement process ensures that the products and services selected by teams across an organization – be it Human Resources, Marketing, Sales or IT just to name a few - are not only legally compliant but also resonate and can be used... --- ### What is a Braille Keyboard? - Published: 2023-11-30 - Modified: 2024-10-21 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-a-braille-keyboard-types/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, braille, web accessibility Braille keyboards are special kinds of keyboards that allow visually impaired and blind people who rely on braille to communicate to be able to type just as a non-braille user would. Braille keyboards use certain keys to represent each braille dot in a cell. This article will discuss how to use a braille keyboard, different kinds of braille keyboards, and more. Using a braille keyboard To operate a braille keyboard, a user presses a combination of keys to type a braille letter. For example, pressing the keys F, S, and D simultaneously and then releasing them will type a single braille character. Unlike a standard QWERTY computer keyboard, a braille keyboard uses only nine keys. Eight(F, D, S, J, K, L, A, ; ) are used to type braille letters. A braille keyboard also has a space bar that works like a standard keyboard. Types of braille keyboards/typewriters Perkins Brailler Invented in 1951, the Perkins Brailler is a “Braille typewriter. ” It has the same keys as a braille keyboard and includes a backspace key, line spacing key, and return lever. Perkins Braillers are similar to standard typewriters that hold paper and advance the sheets of paper with rollers. A Perkins Brailler (Image Credit: Polo3 Fano/Wikimedia Commons) However, Perkins Braillers produce braille dots to create braille documents rather than actual letters. SMART Brailler The SMART Brailler is an advanced version of the Perkins Brailler. The SMART Brailler is similar to a braille typewriter but offers multi-sensory features such as visual... --- ### Does WCAG Apply to PDFs? - Published: 2023-11-23 - Modified: 2023-11-28 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/does-wcag-apply-to-pdfs/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, pdf accessibility Yes, WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) applies to PDF documents. These guidelines help ensure that PDFs are accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. PDF – Portable Document Format – is one of the most prevalent digital document formats, and it is used by individuals and organizations all over the world. There are a number of reasons behind that, primarily because PDF documents can be viewed, accessed or even modified on any device, regardless of the environment in which they were originally created. But, not all PDFs are created equal. A PDF document not created with digital accessibility in mind may not be accessible if everyone cannot easily open, access, read, and navigate the document. And, when we say everyone, we include people with disabilities like vision, hearing, mobility, and cognitive impairment. To solve the digital document inaccessibility problem, a set of universally accepted guidelines pave the way for compliance. What is WCAG? WCAG, or Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, is a set of guidelines developed by W3C in cooperation with individuals and organizations worldwide. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community where the public, member organizations, and full-time staff collaborate to develop web standards. It’s the main international standards organization for the web. WCAG outlines how to make digital content more accessible to people with disabilities. Anything you access on the internet regularly falls under the purview of web content, such as images, videos, sounds, text, or even color or markup that defines structure and presentation. Who is... --- ### What is PDF Remediation? - Published: 2023-11-16 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-pdf-remediation/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, pdf accessibility, pdf remediation PDF Remediation is fixing accessibility errors that make it difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to read, navigate, and interact with PDF files. A few decades ago, when a government agency or private organization made an announcement, they usually spread the news through newsletters, periodicals, newspapers, radio, and other conventional media. As the digital world emerged, it quickly began to overtake and even replace traditional methods of distributing information. And when the pandemic shook the world in the early months of 2020, digital information consumption soared almost overnight, as all government agencies and private companies used digital media to communicate and conduct business safely. Let’s say you work in your company’s digital accessibility or compliance department and are tasked with ensuring that all PDFs are accessible on your website. What can you do? Well, you start by determining how many PDFs your site has and where they are stored on your website. You can do this with Allyant's CommonLook Clarity software tool, which allows teams to test and maintain the accessibility of an organization’s PDF resources. What if you find that your website has hundreds of inaccessible PDF documents? What do you do then? You turn to a PDF remediation tool or service. What is PDF Remediation? If a PDF is not created with digital accessibility in mind, people with certain disabilities may not be able to access it. Thus, in order to make the document accessible to everyone, the PDF is repaired or remediated so that it is accessible to... --- ### 6 Common Examples of Assistive Technology - Published: 2023-11-09 - Modified: 2023-11-10 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-assistive-technology-definition-examples/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, web accessibility People with disabilities worldwide rely on assistive technology to be as independent as possible in their daily lives. Assistive technology (AT) is defined as “any item, piece of equipment, software program, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of persons with disabilities. ” AT can be low or high-tech. Low-tech AT includes simple communication boards and pencil grips and holders. High-tech AT examples are specialized computers, electronic lifts, and mobility devices like power wheelchairs. This blog post will highlight some of the most widely used AT devices. Screen readers Screen readers are some of the most commonly used AT devices relating to Allyant’s work in web accessibility. Screen readers are pieces of software that blind and visually impaired people use to navigate the Internet. Screen reading software verbally reads text that is displayed on a digital screen.   Our digital accessibility auditing team uses screen readers daily to assess critical web accessibility issues and to ensure equitable digital experiences for blind and visually impaired users. The two most common web screen readers are NVDA (Non-Visual Desktop Access) and JAWS (Job Access With Speech). NVDA is free to download, and JAWS requires a paid license.   Common types of screen readers for mobile devices are VoiceOver for iOS and TalkBack for Android. VoiceOver and TalkBack are built-in screen readers and require no installation. Screen magnifiers Screen magnification tools are also commonly used by people with vision impairments. Screen magnification tools enlarge text and graphics on computer screens. Screen magnification software follows the... --- ### Can Screen Readers Read Images? - Published: 2023-11-02 - Modified: 2023-11-01 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/can-screen-readers-read-images-text-on-images/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, screen reader, web accessibility A screen reader can read or access an image only through the image’s alternative text (alt text). If an image contains text, a screen reader can only read the text if it's mentioned in the alt text too. It is essential to recognize that people with vision impairments use the internet differently than those who are sighted. For instance, when a sighted person views the contents of a PDF document, they simply open it and access the content visually. However, assistive technologies such as screen readers are often necessary for those with vision impairments to access the same information. These tools help to make the internet more accessible for everyone, regardless of their abilities. When a PDF document is not accessible, assistive technology such as screen readers won't be able to read its content. Although screen readers can open and read the content of a PDF document aloud, it is essential to ensure that the PDF is accessible for assistive technology to function correctly and read out the PDF the way it’s meant to be. Can screen readers read images? Screen readers generally cannot directly "read" images like they can with text. A sighted user can access the content of an image by simply looking at it, but a screen reader accesses the image only through the alternative text (alt text) or descriptions provided for images. Alt text is added to the HTML code of a web page or document, and it provides a textual description of the image's content... --- ### 6 Common Alt Text Mistakes and Best Practices - Published: 2023-10-26 - Modified: 2025-03-10 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/6-common-alt-text-mistakes-and-best-practices/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: alt text, alternative format, web accessibility, website accessibility Effective alternative (alt) text is essential to web accessibility and usability. Alt text is non-visual text read by screen readers that informs people with vision impairments of the contents of images and other non-text content.   Web development teams must ensure their alt text (or lack thereof) will not interfere with screen readers’ abilities to read non-text content accurately.   Here are some common mistakes to avoid when writing alt text and strategies to overcome them: Always include an alt attribute When developing websites and mobile apps, include an alt attribute for each graphic. A screen reader will often attempt to read the image's filename if there is no alt attribute. This will likely make no sense to screen reader users and can even be distracting in many cases.   If the image is decorative (meaning the image adds no meaning to the page or if the image’s meaning is described in the surrounding text), the image should have an empty alt attribute (alt="").   If the image's meaning is essential and not described elsewhere, it must have an alt attribute that accurately describes it. Don’t use “image of” or “graphic of” Avoid using “image of” or similar phrases when writing alt text. Screen readers will automatically inform users of images, so using the word “image” or something similar in the description is redundant.   For instance, a screen reader will say, "Image: Image of Allyant logo. ” If written correctly, it will simply say, “Image: Allyant logo. ” However, it... --- ### 5 Reasons Why a Web Accessibility Audit is Important - Published: 2023-10-19 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/5-reasons-why-a-web-accessibility-audit-is-important/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing As digital connectivity expands, ensuring website accessibility has become a crucial business and technology objective. This guarantees that all individuals, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can use and access websites. As a global leader in accessibility, Allyant understands the profound impact that a well-executed web accessibility audit can have on businesses and organizations worldwide to meet compliance and human rights goals.   Through our digital accessibility auditing solutions, we perform live-user accessibility testing of hundreds of websites, platforms, and mobile applications each year, providing us with unique insight into the successful outcomes from a strong accessibility roadmap.   Through a reflection on these successful outcomes, we have outlined five key reasons why your organization should invest in a thorough web accessibility audit: Accessibility is a human right! It is ethical and empathetic to ensure that your organization's website or mobile app is accessible to people with disabilities. Roughly 16% of the world’s population and about 20% of the U. S. live with a disability. It is also often overlooked that this makes disability the largest minority group in the U. S. By conducting a web accessibility audit and developing a robust accessibility project plan, your organization can rest assured that it is fulfilling its moral obligation to provide equal access to users with disabilities. Investing in accessibility is about achieving business objectives, doing the right thing, and offering customers access regardless of their abilities. Although web accessibility benefits users with disabilities in particular, these features benefit users without disabilities as well. Captions... --- ### 4 Principles of Web Accessibility - Published: 2023-10-12 - Modified: 2023-10-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/4-principles-of-web-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility checker, accessibility testing, web accessibility The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the foundation of website accessibility, are organized into four overarching principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust.   This blog post will detail these principles, collectively referred to by the acronym POUR, and what they mean in the larger context of web accessibility.   Each principle covers several guidelines with testable success criteria at Levels A, AA, and AAA. Perceivable This principle states that digital content must be able to be understood by multiple senses.   For example, providing text alternatives for non-text content, such as images, would meet the Perceivable principle because sight isn’t required to understand the content, which benefits users who are blind.   Another example would be ensuring that color alone is not the only way to convey meaningful information, which helps users with low vision or colorblindness.   There also must be alternatives to time-based media, such as adding captions and audio descriptions to videos. The Perceivable principle covers Guidelines 1. 1-1. 4. Operable The second principle, Operable, states that web functionality must be able to be accessed and used by all users regardless of ability.   For instance, all functionalities must be available using only a keyboard. This ensures users who cannot use a mouse can access the same information on a webpage that mouse users can.   Other Operable examples include giving users options to turn off, adjust, or extend time limits on web pages and ensuring digital content does not cause users to have seizures or other dangerous... --- ### Allyant Proactively Adapts to WCAG 2.2 Ahead of Official Launch - Published: 2023-10-05 - Modified: 2023-10-11 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-proactively-adapts-to-wcag-2-2-ahead-of-official-launch/ - Categories: News - Tags: wcag 2.2 Ottawa, Ontario — October 5, 2023 – Today, the W3C unveiled WCAG 2. 2, which aims to expand its range to accommodate a broader spectrum of users. More Inclusivity Whereas WCAG 2. 1 showed its commitment to users with disabilities such as blindness, deafness, and mobility impairments, WCAG 2. 2 widens the net. WCAG 2. 2 adds new success criteria to make the web more operable and understandable for those with low vision, cognitive disabilities, and mobile users. For example, it enhances navigation to ensure all users, including those with disabilities and the aging population, can effortlessly interact with the content. By adhering to these standards, people who create, develop, and update digital properties, including websites and mobile apps, can make their content even more accessible to everyone. It is important to note that each new WCAG version extends and does not replace the previous guidelines. Allyant’s Forward-Thinking Approach As a leading name in digital and web accessibility, Allyant hasn’t waited for the official launch to start its adaptation. Ariel Kunar, Allyant’s CEO, states, “WCAG 2. 2 marks a pivotal stride towards a more inclusive digital world. At Allyant, we believe in anticipation rather than reaction. We've always championed the cause of accessibility, and with the introduction of WCAG 2. 2, our proactive measures underscore our commitment to remain at the vanguard of the industry. As we adapt to these expanded guidelines, our aim remains steadfast: ensuring equitable access to digital, document, and printed information for people with disabilities. ”... --- ### VPAT vs WCAG: Their Differences and Similarities - Published: 2023-10-05 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/vpat-vs-wcag-their-differences-and-similarities/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, vpat, wcag, WCAG compliance Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are terms used in the digital accessibility industry. Both are crucial for defining product accessibility and usability for all consumers, regardless of ability. This blog post defines these terms and shows the similarities and differences between the two. What is a VPAT? VPAT stands for Voluntary Product Accessibility Template; it is a document that provides information on the level of accessibility a digital product or software offers to people with disabilities.   A VPAT informs individuals about a digital product's compliance with accessibility standards. Its purpose is to enhance accessibility by offering in-depth details on the product's accessibility features, restrictions, and any possible obstacles related to assistive technology. To learn more about VPATs, you might want to check out our in-depth article: What is a VPAT, and why is it so important? Here at Allyant, we recommend that any software vendor, especially those that offer their products to the education and healthcare industries or the public sector, obtain a VPAT as soon as possible to document accessibility compliance.   Why do I need a VPAT? In many cases, it has become commonplace for enterprise and Title II organizations to require a VPAT or documentation of accessibility conformance through their software procurement processes. For a digital solutions provider, the ROI of obtaining a VPAT is quite simple – it will lead to more sales opportunities or wins by avoiding being blocked in the procurement process for not having an accessible... --- ### 5 Simple Ways to Improve Web Accessibility for the Hearing Impaired - Published: 2023-09-28 - Modified: 2023-09-27 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/5-simple-ways-to-improve-web-accessibility-for-the-hearing-impaired/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, web accessibility Digital accessibility for people with hearing impairments is crucial for equitable access to all audio content on the internet. This has become increasingly important as more and more web pages contain videos and other interactive elements.   Here are some easy ways to ensure that people with hearing impairments can understand all the digital content you publish on your websites or applications. Captions Video accessibility, or lack thereof, is generally the most significant access barrier for users who are deaf or have hearing loss. Web development teams must include captions on all videos that contain spoken content or context that is otherwise portrayed audibly.   Captions are text versions of the audio or sounds presented in video that provide a view of the context of what is being displayed.  Captions must include both noises and dialogue.   Videos can have closed captions, allowing users to turn captions on or off, or open captions (meaning captions are always on the screen). While both options are acceptable, closed captions may be preferred to allow users to toggle captions on or off. A relatively simple way to learn about adding captions to a video is through YouTube, assuming the video is on a YouTube account. When adding captions to a video via YouTube, you must add captions manually and not rely on YouTube’s automated captioning feature (the same holds as a recommendation for all significant video player tools and platforms).   While automated captioning has improved and continues to progress, it is still not nearly as... --- ### 7 Quick Ways to Check if a Website Passes a Color Contrast Check - Published: 2023-09-21 - Modified: 2023-09-20 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/7-quick-ways-to-check-if-a-website-passes-a-color-contrast-check/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, pdf accessibility, web accessibility What is acceptable color contrast, and how do you measure it? Appropriate color contrast is an essential component of digital accessibility. The right color contrast is especially helpful to people with low vision or color blindness. Though you can check the contrast ratio between anything in the foreground, including graphics, tables, etc. , we focus on text in the foreground for this article. What is good color contrast? Good color contrast is achieved when the contrast between the text in the foreground and the background color is greater than the recommended WCAG standard. For WCAG 2. 1 AA (the standard Allyant and many other digital accessibility organizations test against), the contrast ratio must be at least 4. 5:1 with its background.  The higher the number, the higher the contrast and the easier it is to read. However, there are exceptions to this rule.   Large text (at least regular 18 pt font or bold 14 pt font) only needs a contrast ratio of 3:1 since large text is generally easier to see than standard text.   Incidental text, defined as "text or images of text that are part of an inactive user interface component, that are pure decoration, that are not visible to anyone, or that are part of a picture that contains significant other visual content,” does not need to meet any minimum color contrast requirement.   Brand logos with text, including logos with taglines or slogans, do not need to meet any color contrast requirement. WCAG 2. 1 AA requires non-text... --- ### How to Shift Left in Digital Accessibility: A Guide to Building and Designing Inclusively from the Start - Published: 2023-09-14 - Modified: 2023-09-13 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-shift-left-in-digital-accessibility-a-guide-to-building-and-designing-inclusively-from-the-start/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, web accessibility One of the most common questions we receive from design and development teams or digital agencies is, “When is the best time to implement digital accessibility? ” This is the right question for any team looking for success and efficiency in managing a digitally accessibility roadmap.   However, I find this a loaded question for a few reasons. First, most things do not fit into a perfect box or ideal scenario – we can likely all relate to that in business and life! That said, in ideal situations, digital accessibility should be implemented in the design phase of a project.   This is the historical shift left mentality we dive into in this blog. Moving accessibility up or left in the product build cycle ensures the efficient management of accessibility in the product life cycle.   However, I always like to reiterate that this isn’t always possible, and many teams ultimately implement accessibility on a live or built product – this is just a reality. Second, accessibility is not a one-time project or task. Even in the ideal scenarios where the shift left mentality is perfectly executed, your digital property will continue to evolve on an ongoing basis. Web or mobile application accessibility doesn’t stop with an initial design review for accessibility or an audit of a new/existing digital property. To maintain a highly usable and compliant website or application, you must build accessibility testing into future releases, feature enhancements, or ongoing updates to templates, components, and user journeys. Sometimes, this is purely... --- ### Web Accessibility for People with Hearing Disabilities - Published: 2023-09-07 - Modified: 2024-01-20 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/web-accessibility-for-people-with-hearing-disabilities/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, deaf accessibility Website accessibility ensures everyone—including people with disabilities—can read, understand, navigate, and interact with a website. You may be familiar with how accessible websites accommodate people with visual impairments by allowing them to easily use a screen reader to read the web page's content aloud to them. People with hearing impairments also need accommodations to experience a website the way that was intended. A 2023 Forbes article states that more than 1. 5 billion people worldwide have hearing loss in at least one ear. This article discusses what to consider when making audio content accessible on your website. Is your website content accessible to people with hearing impairments? Web designers and developers may need to include extra but needed features to ensure equitable access. Imagine how frustrating it would be if you could not hear sounds on a web page, and there was no alternative way of receiving that information. The first step is to audit the audio content on your website, social media, and other digital properties. Go through your website with your web administrator/developer and/or accessibility tester. List the pages with audio content and what type of content it is. Now, you can start tackling each piece of audio to make it accessible. Below are the three main types of audio content you may find on your websites and other digital properties. Video Content Videos are perhaps the most common potential digital accessibility barrier to the deaf and hard of hearing. Videos can be viewed on your website, social media, or... --- ### 4 Free Best Web Accessibility Testing Tools: A Detailed Comparison - Published: 2023-08-31 - Modified: 2023-08-31 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/4-best-web-accessibility-testing-tools-a-detailed-comparison/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance, Software Digital accessibility continues to be a hot-button topic from many angles, whether DEI, legal, compliance, or legislation (or lack thereof). Because we support thousands of clients on website accessibility, we know many individuals and businesses may feel overwhelmed or unsure where to begin. That's precisely the reason for writing this blog – to help guide you in dipping your toes into the world of web accessibility testing while also garnering leadership support to build a web accessibility plan and budget. In this blog, we'll explore a range of free tools that can kickstart your accessibility journey. We have formulated a list of some of the most highly used and new-to-market accessibility tools and resources that have no cost to deploy in assessing your current state of accessibility. As you explore the tools, we hope to make the case that web accessibility is not just a box-checking exercise or meeting legal requirements. The overarching goal of any successful digital accessibility plan should be creating great user experiences that resonate with any user, drive inclusivity, and broaden your customer base. Top Free Digital Accessibility Testing Tools Here is a list of the best four free web accessibility tools that you can use to test a website for digital accessibility. WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool The WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation) tool was developed by WebAIM and has been one of the most widely used web accessibility testing tools for many years. WAVE provides a free Chrome Extension, the most heavily used version of this... --- ### What is the Trusted Tester Web Certification Program? - Published: 2023-08-24 - Modified: 2023-08-22 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-the-trusted-tester-web-certification-program/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing Our mission here at Allyant is to ensure everyone has equitable digital access. A free program called Trusted Tester web certification provides valuable resources and training in web accessibility. It is a highly useful guide for those interested in this field. This program focuses on helping testers earn an essential understanding of website accessibility issues and how to test for them. The program is an online web accessibility training course run by the U. S. Department of Homeland Security. The course focuses on Section 508 Compliance, a U. S. law requiring federal agencies to ensure their technology is accessible to people with disabilities.   The Trusted Tester course can only be taken on Windows operating system computers. A brief overview of the Trusted Tester course  The Trusted Tester course has five sections. Section One The first section is an overview of Section 508 and why it is important to conform to Section 508 standards. Section Two The section covers Section 508 web standards and includes a detailed discussion of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which comprise the foundation of web accessibility testing. Section Three Introduces users to two tools needed to complete the course: ANDI (Accessible Name & Description Inspector) and the Color Contrast Analyzer. Section Four Provides more detail about web accessibility issues and how to test for them. Users test webpages for potential accessibility issues and receive a score based on their performance. You are allowed to retake each test multiple times until you score 100%. Section Five This section is a... --- ### How to Leverage Tax Credits by Making Your Website ADA Compliant - Published: 2023-08-21 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-leverage-tax-credits-by-making-your-website-ada-compliant/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, disability, web accessibility In today's digital age, a company's online presence is paramount to its success. As businesses increasingly rely on their websites to connect with customers and conduct transactions, ensuring that these platforms are accessible to everyone is not only a moral imperative but also a legal requirement.   The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates that businesses provide equal access to individuals with disabilities, which also extends to the digital realm.   What many companies may not realize is that adhering to ADA compliance standards for their websites can not only enhance user experience but also lead to significant tax benefits in the form of tax credits.   This article explores how companies can gain tax credits for ADA-compliant websites. What is ADA Compliance? The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in 1990 to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities in various areas of public life, including employment, transportation, and public accommodations. Over time, the definition of "public accommodations" has evolved to encompass digital spaces, including websites and mobile applications.   Websites must follow specific guidelines outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2. 1 to be ADA-compliant. These guidelines ensure that people with disabilities like visual impairments, hearing loss, cognitive limitations, and mobility challenges can easily access digital content. Tax Credits for ADA Compliance Businesses that comply with accessibility requirements for their websites may be eligible for tax credits under the ADA. The IRS provides the Disabled Access Credit (Section 44) as an incentive for small businesses that incur expenses related to accessibility... --- ### What Is A Web Accessibility Audit? - Published: 2023-08-17 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-web-accessibility-audit-how-conducted-time-cost/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, web accessibility It never ceases to amaze me how much technology has transformed the world in recent years, making information and services more accessible than ever before and within an instant in most cases. However, this advancement comes with the responsibility to ensure that the digital realm is inclusive and welcoming to all individuals, regardless of their abilities. This is especially critical considering that 27% of U. S. adults live with a disability, and 16% of the world population has a disability. Additionally, anyone can acquire a disability anytime, so the number of individuals requiring digital access through accessible websites and applications increases daily. This is where a web accessibility audit comes into play as a critical process to determine the usability and accessibility barriers of a digital property in its current state. With that said, a successful web accessibility audit contains a few key elements to ensure your organization is truly driving inclusion forward and mapping out a remediation process that will lead to an equitable experience. This article discusses several common questions about creating a successful web accessibility audit project plan. Purpose of a Web Accessibility Audit At its core, a web accessibility audit comprehensively evaluates a website or application's accessibility features or conformance with the WCAG Guidelines.   The primary purpose is to identify elements that might hinder the user experience for people with disabilities. This includes individuals with a broad range of disabilities, including visual impairments such as blindness or color blindness, hearing impairments, motor disabilities such as ALS... --- ### Understanding the DOJ's Proposed ADA Regulation Updates for Websites and Mobile Apps - Published: 2023-08-10 - Modified: 2023-08-09 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/understanding-the-dojs-proposed-ada-regulation-updates-for-websites-and-mobile-apps/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software On August 4th, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a notice of proposed rulemaking, which could substantially affect the ADA’s applicability to websites and mobile applications. Specifically, these would be a revised set of regulations related to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), establishing specific requirements for making web and mobile apps accessible. History of the ADA & Digital Accessibility When assessing these new regulations, the history of the ADA and its application to websites and mobile applications is important. For starters, the ADA was signed into law on July 26, 1990, when the internet and digital technologies, as we know them today, did not exist remotely. As a result, there has been an ongoing debate and legal analysis surrounding the application of the ADA to websites, particularly in recent times. Without specific regulations from the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding website accessibility under the ADA, many courts have relied on various standards and guidelines to determine whether a website is accessible. However, this is mainly gray without specific requirements. We will dive into this below, but it is important to note that this would still be the case for Title III entities as the proposed rulemaking released last week only applies to Title II entities. However, the absence of any revisions to a law released well before the current state of the internet, with how rapidly technology has advanced, specifically in recent years, has created a long overdue need for the DOJ to step... --- ### What Happens If Your Website Is Not Accessible? - Published: 2023-08-03 - Modified: 2023-08-03 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-happens-if-your-website-is-not-accessible/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, web accessibility In today's digital era, a website is the first line of consumer interaction for most businesses or organizations. This results in your website and digital presence acting as a crucial gateway to reach potential customers or users. However, for many brands, even today, when building out their web presence, the importance of digital accessibility is either overlooked or put on the back burner. An accessible website allows people with disabilities to navigate, read, and interact with your website, even if they use a keyboard or assistive technology like a screen reader to do so. This article explores the consequences of neglecting accessibility, from leaving out a significant portion of your audience to potential legal ramifications. We empathize that making your website accessible to people with disabilities requires work. However, building a roadmap and actionable steps to make your website accessible can help you avoid serious financial, legal, and ethical consequences by designing for accessibility. Let’s dive into what can happen to organizations whose websites (or other digital properties) do not adequately serve people with disabilities. Financial impact on your business An inaccessible website can present several financial consequences to the bottom line, which is vital to every business.   About 16% of people worldwide have experienced some form of disability, and about 27% of U. S. adults have a disability.   Suppose your website cannot be accessed by someone with a disability (and those users cannot conduct business as a result).   In that case, your business will likely lose a... --- ### What is the Web Accessibility Initiative? What's Its Purpose, & What Does It Do? - Published: 2023-07-27 - Modified: 2023-07-26 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-the-web-accessibility-initiative-whats-its-purpose-what-does-it-do/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, web accessibility The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is a W3C initiative that develops standards and other support materials to help people better understand and implement accessibility. The WAI was launched by the W3C, with help from the White House, in 1997.   The WAI is made up of people from disability organizations, governments, and research labs throughout the world. The WAI’s goal is “to make the Web accessible to people with disabilities," including users with auditory, cognitive, physical, speech, and visual impairments. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are some of the most notable guidelines published by the WAI. The WCAG guidelines help form the foundation of driving digital accessibility, including much of our work for clients here at Allyant.   Our digital accessibility auditing team audits websites and mobile apps based on the WCAG 2. 1 guideline success criteria to determine how these deficiencies can be resolved to provide an equitable user experience. The WCAG is divided into four sections: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust.   Perceivable refers to whether multiple senses can process digital content. For example, whether a video has captions would fall into the Perceivable category of the WCAG since people can either listen to what is being said or read the captions to understand what is happening in the video.   Operable refers to whether users can access content through multiple devices, such as the ability to navigate a website using only a keyboard (rather than having to use a mouse). Understandable means that users need to be able to... --- ### Why is Web Accessibility Important in Higher Education? - Published: 2023-07-20 - Modified: 2023-07-18 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/why-is-web-accessibility-important-in-higher-education/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, education, highed ed, pdf accessibility Higher education is an essential part of an individual’s career growth which makes it critical that everyone has equal opportunities to access it. The COVID pandemic expanded access to solid internet connectivity, and the evolution of digital products has led to a significant rise in online learning and web-based education. This is extremely useful for students and educators living with disabilities as it has opened up many more opportunities for learning and skill development. However, with great access comes much great responsibility. It is essential to ensure that higher education and every learning opportunity are accessible to all, including those with disabilities. This is where web accessibility and WCAG compliance come in. The good news is this is not a new concept between long-standing guidelines put forth by the W3C and legal requirements under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Web accessibility, at the baseline level, refers to designing websites and web-based content in such a way that it can be accessed and used by all individuals, regardless of their abilities. This blog will discuss the growing importance of web accessibility, specifically in higher education, including some key steps institutions can take to ensure their web-based content is accessible to all. No Student Left Behind Web Accessibility in Higher Education Accessibility is a fundamental principle when considering equal opportunities for all. Regardless of their abilities, every student should have equal opportunities to access and participate in every learning environment. Web accessibility ensures that all students can access and use the... --- ### What is the W3C and Why is it So Important? - Published: 2023-07-13 - Modified: 2023-07-12 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-the-w3c-and-why-is-it-so-important/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility testing, pdf accessibility, web accessibility Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the Internet, founded the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) in 1994. The W3C is an international organization that provides a set of standards “to ensure the long-term growth of the Web. ” The W3C is based on the principles of accessibility (more on that in next week’s blog post), internationalization (designing and developing for all users regardless of culture, region, or language), privacy, and security.   With more than 400 members worldwide, a staff of about 50 people, and more than 12,000 web developers, the W3C community serves the W3C's mission "to lead the Web to its full potential. ” Why are the W3C standards necessary? These standards help digitally connect the world. They are used in browsers, search engines, and other web software. Without them, you would need to use specific browsers to view some websites. You would also be unable to share information with others via the internet and play games online with friends, among other things. The W3C has made the internet a much more collaborative and interactive place. What are some of the W3C standards? The most widely used and well-known W3C standard is HTML or HyperText Markup Language. HTML serves as the “building blocks” of the internet and is the standard markup language for web documents. HTML provides structure to documents by using tags (for example, ) to define text such as lists, headings, paragraphs, links, images, etc. Often, HTML is used in conjunction with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). CSS... --- ### Why is Accessibility Good for Business? - Published: 2023-07-06 - Modified: 2023-07-04 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/why-is-accessibility-good-for-business/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, web accessibility As an organization, prioritizing accessibility has an obvious moral component which should be the underlying factor. We all have a responsibility to be as inclusive as possible, whether that means ensuring accessibility through the design and usability of digital products, having accessible hiring practices, or simply making inclusion part of broader internal thought leadership.   Prioritizing accessibility not only benefits individuals but also has a significant positive impact on the profitability of businesses. Accessibility increases market reach Perhaps most importantly, about 1. 3 billion people worldwide (16%) have experienced a significant disability at some point in their lives. About 27% of adults in the U. S. have some type of disability. Companies that fail to prioritize digital accessibility risk losing a significant customer base due to the inability of people with disabilities to access and navigate their websites. Similarly, people with disabilities are likelier to shop online than the average person. This may be due to convenience or inability to leave the house because of their disability, among other factors. Not surprisingly, people with disabilities are significant contributors to online sales. Online sales have become increasingly important in recent years following the digital retail and e-commerce boom during the COVID pandemic, as more and more people with and without disabilities shop online. Accessibility drives innovation Designing for accessibility can be a big boost for businesses. It can lead to greater innovation and new and creative ways of thinking. Accessible design can benefit everyone, not just those with disabilities. As the number of people using... --- ### How Do I Check If My Website Is WCAG Compliant (And Does It Need To Be)? - Published: 2023-06-29 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-do-i-check-if-my-website-is-wcag-compliant-does-it-need-to-compliant/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility checker, accessibility testing, pdf accessibility, web accessibility One of the most common questions we get from organizations interested in digital accessibility is simply, “Is my website compliant? ” While this may seem like a simple question, there are many additional layers to peel back on when determining the short or long answer. This article will break down these layers and outline some ways to determine the answer. Additionally, we will cover some ancillary topics, such as the relevance and potential impact of your website being WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) compliant. There are several ways to approach this question – whether just doing a simple spot check or really diving into making your site highly usable for all visitors and compliant with the WCAG success criteria. Manual Review: The best way to check a website's WCAG compliance status The only authentic way to determine if your website complies with the WCAG standards is to do a manual review. In all cases, this should also include people with disabilities, specifically native screen-read users, as we detailed in a recent blog post.   If your organization is truly serious about providing equitable access to your consumers and ensuring you comply with the WCAG standard, you should deploy live-user testing as part of your accessibility project plan. That said, you can perform more immediate tests in real-time to get a baseline understanding of your website’s current WCAG compliance level. This can also be a great way to expose your team to the importance of web accessibility. 3 Quick and easy ways to check whether a... --- ### Accessible Hiring Best Practices: 6 Steps to a More Inclusive Hiring Process - Published: 2023-06-22 - Modified: 2023-06-21 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/accessible-hiring-best-practices-6-steps-to-a-more-inclusive-hiring-process/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, disability, web accessibility Accessible hiring practices are essential for the long-term success and sustainability of organizations. This article will explore the concept of accessible hiring, define what an accessible workplace entails, and provide tips on increasing inclusivity in your hiring practices. Accessible hiring: What does it mean to have an accessible workplace? Accessible hiring refers specifically to a focus on hiring people with disabilities, and ensuring that proper accommodations are made to create an accessible workplace. How are accessible hiring and inclusive hiring related? Inclusive hiring and accessible hiring are closely linked, but there is a difference. Accessible hiring is about hiring people with disabilities, while inclusive hiring is about hiring people from diverse backgrounds, including race/ethnicity, gender, and more. Inclusive hiring is a broader concept encompassing accessible hiring as one of its components. Inclusive hiring is especially important for companies with a special focus on accessibility, such as Allyant. According to a survey by Monster. com, a popular careers website, 86% of job seekers prioritize workplace inclusion. The study also revealed that 62% of individuals would only accept a job offer from a company that demonstrated an inclusive culture. Who benefits from inclusive hiring? Inclusive hiring practices benefit both sides of the hiring process: the candidate and the company. Candidates from various backgrounds will likely feel more empowered to apply and share their skills and experiences. Inclusive hiring processes also reflect well on companies and make them a more welcoming and inviting workplaces. Companies and hiring teams that value inclusion typically create... --- ### Ensuring an Inclusive Digital Footprint: The Importance of Digital Accessibility for DEI Initiatives - Published: 2023-06-15 - Modified: 2023-06-12 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-dei-initiatives-mean-digital-web-accessibility-role/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, web accessibility In today's rapidly evolving and highly competitive business environment, organizations realize the power and critical importance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.   More companies than ever are making a solid effort to promote inclusion, which is also a critical stepping stone in driving access for people with disabilities. Disability does not see color, race, or gender – so in some ways, it is the cornerstone of diversity.   Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for brands to overlook disability, and specifically digital accessibility, in their DEI initiatives. Just as DEI seeks to break down barriers and create a more equitable society, web accessibility illuminates the path toward a digital landscape that leaves no one behind. Inclusivity, both in the physical and virtual environments, is essential to fostering a sense of belonging and enabling individuals to participate fully in today's interconnected and highly digital world. This article will explore the increasing emphasis on DEI and its significance. Additionally, we will highlight the vital role of digital accessibility in a well-rounded DEI strategy. What is DEI? DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The underlying goal of DEI is to simply create a world where everyone feels valued, respected, and included. Diversity starts with embracing and celebrating the unique qualities everyone brings to the world or work environment. This uniqueness can span from their background, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, abilities, and more.   It is important to not view uniqueness in a box, as it is wide-reaching, and that... --- ### Is Large Print Inherently Accessible? - Published: 2023-06-08 - Modified: 2023-06-11 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/is-large-print-inherently-accessible/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: large print, pdf accessibility Large print—also known as large-font or large-type—refers to formatting a textual document whose font size is significantly bigger than the 12 points most commonly used in printed media and digital documents. The font size of the large print is usually at least 18 points, equivalent to 24px for a web CSS font size. Note that the term ‘large print’ often refers to larger than regular font size, which is not necessarily accurate. For example, according to the American Publishing House for the Blind, the average font size for the body of a printed document is 12 points, enlarged print is 14-16 points, and 18 points and above is considered large print. Not all people who are legally blind have sufficient vision to read text, even if the font size is larger than normal. Are large print documents inherently accessible? If a person is completely blind, the large print won’t help. Correct tagging, among other accessibility features, must also be in place if the document they read is a digital PDF. Download our guide on Large Print Format Statements for Equitable Access Large print may aid readability for people who are partially blind. However, readability is not equal to accessibility. For those with low vision, font size is only one of the features they need.   Additional attributes are necessary to make textual information fully accessible. Some font styles aid readability and, therefore, enhance the accessibility of textual information. For example, according to the guidelines developed by the American Printing House, sans-serif fonts (like Verdana, Tahoma,... --- ### SEO Accessibility: 4 Quick Accessibility Fixes to Improve SEO - Published: 2023-06-01 - Modified: 2023-05-31 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/seo-accessibility-4-quick-accessibility-fixes-to-improve-seo/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: web accessibility For any organization to be successful, it is crucial to make wise business decisions that yield maximum Return on Investment (ROI). However, when it comes to digital and web teams, accessibility has not been a top priority in the past. Let’s consider, though, that it might just take a simple mind shift into considering the Return on Accessibility (ROA).   Of course, we could write about the legal ramifications to drive the need to ensure your website is accessible, but that is as equally a required insurance policy as it is ROA.   Instead, let’s focus on one of the most highly budgeted and invested line items for most digital marketing teams – search engine optimization (SEO). While digital accessibility and WCAG compliance standards might be foreign to many marketing teams, SEO is one of the cornerstones of their success in most cases. On the surface, SEO and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) may seem like two very different topics, but they are closely related.   In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of SEO and WCAG compliance working together to improve the overall user experience of a website while driving ROA for any business. How do SEO & WCAG Compliance work together? Simply put, SEO and WCAG compliance are not mutually exclusive. In fact, one of the main focuses of both is to improve the overall user experience of a website – which shows they consistently work in parallel with one another.   Unfortunately, most digital teams... --- ### What are the Digital Accessibility Standards in California for Healthcare Providers? - Published: 2023-05-25 - Modified: 2023-05-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-are-the-digital-accessibility-standards-in-california-for-healthcare-providers/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, disability, pdf accessibility California is committed to ensuring its citizens have access to accessible documents to comply with accessibility laws and meet the needs of people with disabilities.   For this reason, healthcare providers in California are experiencing a significant increase in demand for alternative formats for communications, including Explanation of Benefits (EOBs), bills, statements, files and records, and correspondence. Healthcare providers encompass a range of professionals, such as hospitals, doctors, clinics, psychologists, dentists, chiropractors, nursing homes, and pharmacies. To protect the rights of individuals with disabilities, federal civil rights laws prohibit discrimination in healthcare. Let's take a quick look at some of these laws. What accessibility-related laws must California healthcare providers comply with? Healthcare providers in California must comply with several visual accessibility laws, such as the ADA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, California Civil Code 54, and California Health and Safety Code 1367. 63. These laws require that healthcare providers offer auxiliary aids and services, such as braille materials, large print, and accessible electronic formats, to achieve effective communication for people with visual disabilities. Additionally, healthcare providers must have their websites, mobile apps, and other electronic communication tools accessible to people with visual disabilities.   How can California healthcare providers make their documents accessible to people with disabilities? If you are a healthcare provider in California, it is your responsibility to ensure that your digital assets (such as websites, apps, and emails) and communication materials are accessible to all individuals, including those with disabilities.   Allyant can... --- ### Can Screen Readers Read PDFs? - Published: 2023-05-18 - Modified: 2023-05-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/can-screen-readers-read-pdfs/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility, pdf accessibility, pdf validator Yes, screen readers can read PDFs if the PDF's are accessible, meaning they can be accessed by everyone, including people with disabilities. PDF (Portable Document Format) is one of the most prevalent formats for digital documents. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to find a website or intranet without them. Why are PDFs so popular? A key feature is that users can view, access, and share them regardless of the device, platform, or operating system. PDFs can be emailed, downloaded, or printed. They can be online or offline. The ability to retain content, layout, and attributes regardless of the environment makes it the perfect solution for digital documents. But unfortunately, PDFs are not always accessible for people with vision impairments. Most countries have regulations that provide guidelines to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities in public areas including buildings, parks, facilities, and transportation. Accessibility guidelines extend to communications and IT, including digital documents like PDFs, except you must remove electronic barriers instead of physical barriers. For a document to achieve digital accessibility, a person with disabilities must be able to open, read, and navigate it as easily as someone without any impairments. Accessibility makes it possible for everyone to use digital documents. What are screen readers? Screen readers are software programs allowing people with vision impairments to read the text on the computer screen with a speech synthesizer or braille display.   Screen readers work with the computer’s operating system to provide information about what appears on the screen (such as... --- ### Allyant Celebrates Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) for First Time as Unified Brand. - Published: 2023-05-16 - Modified: 2023-05-16 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-celebrates-global-accessibility-awareness-day-gaad-for-first-time-as-unified-brand/ - Categories: News Ottawa, Ontario — May 16, 2023 – As Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) approaches, Allyant, the world's leading accessibility solutions provider, proudly announced its very first celebration of GAAD as a now unified brand—formed from the amalgamation of T-Base, CommonLook, and Accessible360. GAAD, observed annually on the third Thursday of May, is a momentous event that raises awareness about the importance of accessible experiences and fosters collaboration to enhance inclusivity in the digital world. It encourages individuals to share their insights, experiences, and knowledge, inspiring collective efforts to make digital platforms accessible for all.   "This year's GAAD holds particular significance as it marks Allyant's first celebration as a unified brand, symbolizing the convergence of exceptional people and expertise from our founding companies," said Ariel Kunar, CEO of Allyant. "GAAD has always served as a poignant reminder of our previous brands' unwavering commitment to digital accessibility and the inclusion of individuals with disabilities. Allyant is proud to continue that tradition, ensuring equitable access to information for people with disabilities. "  Allyant ensures that every organization's path toward equitable access is effortless and smooth, eliminating the concerns, pressure, and ambiguity often linked with accessibility. The company provides a vast range of accessibility services and software solutions, including digital accessibility auditing, print and digital document remediation services, document remediation software, and numerous enterprise automation solutions. Allyant's leading-edge products and services are designed to empower organizations of all sizes, industries, and geographical locations to deliver accessible communications that comply with accessibility standards. By... --- ### WCAG 2.2 Explained: Everything You Need to Know about the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 - Published: 2023-05-11 - Modified: 2023-11-06 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/wcag-2-2-explained-everything-you-need-to-know-about-web-content-accessibility-guidelines-2-2/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance - Tags: wcag, wcag 2.1, WCAG compliance On October 5, 2023, the W3C formally released and recommended the updated WCAG 2. 2 guidelines, incorporating final feedback from the previous draft published in early 2023. The formal recommendation of these standards by the W3C moved this update to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines from the draft stage to the most up-to-date global conformance standards for digital properties. This article will discuss the guidelines' background and evolution, the new features in the latest update, and WCAG 2. 2 release. Evolution of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) WCAG 1. 0 was the first release of any formal guidelines on web accessibility in May of 1999. Ironically, this was less than a year after Google was founded in September 1998!   In 2008, the WCAG guidelines were updated to version 2. 0, quickly becoming the more formally recognized standard. This is mainly because WCAG 2. 0 introduced a more comprehensive and user-friendly set of guidelines that can be easily implemented in web and digital content. Since its release, WCAG 2. 0 has become the international standard for web accessibility. Many governments worldwide require compliance with the guidelines – specifically WCAG 2. 0 AA - as a minimum requirement for web accessibility.   WCAG 2. 1 was a minor update to the WCAG 2. 0 guidelines released by the W3C in 2018. These standards still apply as guidelines but have been expanded upon with the formal 2. 2 release. The 2. 1 update introduced 17 new success criteria to improve accessibility... --- ### Section 508 Compliance: Everything You Need to Know - Published: 2023-05-03 - Modified: 2023-05-03 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-section-508-compliant-document-definition-explanation-example/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance - Tags: section 508 Article Outline What does it mean to be 508 compliant? History of Section 508 Once the driving force of many federal agencies; it affected any organization that accepted federal funding. 508 Refresh brought new significance to 508 compliance and moved the U. S. requirements to at least WCAG 2. 0 AA, so basically a 508-compliant document is just one that meets WCAG 2. 0 AA. Even if your organization is not directly required to follow Section 508 compliance requirements, almost every organization is subject to the ADA, and the ADA is being enforced by the DOJ much stricter than Section 508 was ever enforced. 508 applies just to the federal government. Government agencies, their websites, and all internal communication must be accessible. Some organizations that work with or get funds from the government need to be compliant. Check with Allyant's CommonLook PDF Validator or CommonLook PDF. Evolution of accessibility standards Over time, accessibility standards have evolved to include requirements addressing the needs of electronic documents more effectively. New document elements have been introduced, grown more common, and, in some cases, now serve as staples in the PDF world. For example, when the American Rehabilitation Act (ARA) was enacted, radio buttons in fillable forms were not nearly as common. Nowadays, however, a multiple-choice question can find its way into every questionnaire an organization publishes. As a result, more modern accessibility standards include multiple checkpoints on proper forms management. This constant evolution is the primary motivator for updating, changing, or even creating... --- ### Why Obtain a Third-Party VPAT? - Published: 2023-04-27 - Modified: 2023-04-25 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/why-obtain-a-third-party-vpat/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: vpat A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is a document that provides information about a product's compliance with accessibility standards. Learn more about what a VPAT is and why it is essential for accessibility. Any organization can complete its own VPAT, but should they? Or is it better to have a third party do it for them? There are several reasons why a third party might be best suited to complete this document on behalf of an organization – a path most software providers take. 1. Expertise in Digital Accessibility Perhaps above all, an external vendor that specializes specifically in digital accessibility can bring a level of experience and niche expertise to the process of completing a VPAT.   This can ensure that the document is comprehensive and accurate and that all relevant accessibility standards and guidelines are considered. Many internal teams have a baseline understanding of WCAG Compliance but lack niche expertise in this core competency.   Additionally, any strong third-party vendor will include people with disabilities (i. e. , native screen reader engineers) in their assessment of the product to help ensure accuracy for a broader user base – which is the ultimate goal of providing a VPAT. 2. Objectivity and Accuracy Organizations that require a VPAT from their software vendors often request it be executed by an outside firm for this very reason. Going through the process of having an external vendor complete this document provides an objective assessment of a product's accessibility, free from any biases or conflicts... --- ### Can Artificial Intelligence Make PDFs Accessible? - Published: 2023-04-20 - Modified: 2023-04-18 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/can-artificial-intelligence-make-pdfs-accessible/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: artificial intelligence A PDF document is considered accessible if it can be used/accessed by everyone, including people with disabilities. There are several accessibility standards to test against that help ensure PDF accessibility. Most PDFs published on websites are not accessible. This is not necessarily due to the negligence of web designers and authors; often, people don’t even realize that the PDFs they upload on their website are not accessible or standards-compliant.   However, the law requires that all public-facing websites must be accessible (including documents like PDFs) to everyone, so when a website owner is served with an accessibility lawsuit, they may look for quick fixes. In a time-sensitive situation involving possible legal action, organizations may look to artificial intelligence to speed up the process. Do AI tools for PDF accessibility work? Can AI make PDFs accessible? Optical Character Recognition There are many reasons that PDFs fail accessibility. One common error involves PDFs with scanned images that may include textual information. Optical Character Recognition, or OCR, is a technology that can read through written text or text in scanned images and convert it into machine-encoded text that can be copied, cut, edited, and worked on digitally.   For example, if you run OCR on the image of a handwritten note which says, “Hello, Allyant! ”, it will read the handwritten text and produce the words, “Hello, Allyant! ” in textual form in a document. OCR is the first thing you need to do to fix an inaccessible PDF if your PDF is an image or series... --- ### What is Section 508 Compliance & Why Does it Matter for Accessibility? - Published: 2023-04-13 - Modified: 2023-04-12 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-section-508-compliance-why-it-matters-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance - Tags: accessibility checker, accessibility software, pdf accessibility The roots of Section 508 go back to 1973 - the establishment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - which required unrestricted access to any programs and activities funded by the federal government and its agencies. The Access Board was established to regulate the new requirements, which at the time was primarily for physical access to buildings. What is Section 508? Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a civil rights legislation that requires federal agencies and organizations to make their electronic and information technologies accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. The Section 508 laws were updated in 1998 to include provisions for the growth of the internet and electronic communications in the federal government.   Here is a summary of the law taken from the US Access Board website:  “On August 7, 1998, President Clinton signed into law the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998, which covers access to federally funded programs and services. The law strengthens section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and requires access to electronic and information technology provided by the Federal government. The law applies to all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology. Federal agencies must ensure that this technology is accessible to employees and members of the public with disabilities to the extent it does not pose an undue burden. ” The law was further updated and strengthened in 2017 with the 508 Refresh, which brought Section 508 requirements to WCAG 2. 0 AA level compliance. This much-needed update brought... --- ### Importance of Live-User Testing for Web Accessibility - Published: 2023-04-06 - Modified: 2023-04-06 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/importance-of-live-user-testing-for-web-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility checker, disability, web accessibility, website accessibility Digital Accessibility has continued to gain significant traction across nearly every vertical in recent years. In some ways, it was a perfect storm of a growing focus on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), the COVID Pandemic driving an increase in digital content and assistive technology continuing to provide increased connectivity for people with disabilities. At the same time, the digital explosion has also created a great responsibility to ensure this content is equally accessible to all. Accessibility has quickly become a must-have for website design and development that ensures that everyone, including individuals with disabilities, can access and use a website or mobile application without access barriers. However, ensuring accessibility compliance is not always an easy task. Driving compliance requires thoroughly evaluating the website's design, content, and overall functionality. The most thorough and efficient way to achieve this is through a live-user accessibility audit that includes testers living with disabilities. This blog will highlight the benefits of a live-user accessibility audit and why it is essential to creating a WCAG-compliant website. 1 - Improved User Experience The primary benefit of a live-user accessibility audit is that it improves the user experience for people with disabilities. Beyond ensuring that a website complies with the WCAG guidelines, feedback from a user who uses assistive technology provides valuable insight on giving a compliant experience and a great experience to all users.   It helps identify the barriers that prevent them from using the website effectively. This includes confusing navigation, unclear text, or an... --- ### What is a VPAT and Why is it Important for Accessibility? - Published: 2023-03-30 - Modified: 2023-03-29 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-vpat-definition-importance-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: disability, vpat The digital accessibility industry is filled with various buzzwords, many of which seem to ebb and flow based on the most recent legal precedent, potential legislation, or the next iteration of potential compliance standards. Hearing the word VPAT with solid consistency over the past six months feels no different. It is synonymous with accessibility for those in the industry and has stood the test of time since it was first released in 2001.   However, for software and product providers, specifically, those offering their services in industries governed by Section 508, the VPAT has quickly become a must-have. In this blog, we dive into an overview of what a VPAT is and why it is a critical component for software providers in driving new sales and customer renewals. What is a VPAT? VPAT stands for Voluntary Product Accessibility Template. At a baseline level, it is a document that provides information about a product's compliance with accessibility standards.   The VPAT is designed to promote accessibility by providing detailed information on the product's accessibility features, limitations, and even potential barriers leveraging assistive technology. Who should obtain a VPAT? Our professional recommendation is that every software vendor obtains a VPAT as quickly as possible – before the inability to present one prevents a key sale or customer renewal.   This includes those organizations that build software or digital products for the following industry verticals: 1 - Education: This vertical is where we see a VPAT considered a must-have. For any software provider that offers... --- ### What are the Differences and Similarities Between Structural and Accessibility Standards in Digital Documents? - Published: 2023-03-23 - Modified: 2024-06-14 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-are-the-differences-and-similarities-between-structural-and-accessibility-standards-in-digital-documents/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: pdf accessibility Scope of this article: The Structural check tests against the PDF creation standard, ISO 32000. While ISO 32000 mentions accessibility functionality in PDF, it is broader. The Structural check confirms if the PDF is built correctly, verifying links, forms, graphics, and PDF encoding. (This is not the same thing as character encoding, although that’s a thing, too. ) The Accessibility standards approach the broader concept of what’s allowed in a PDF and tighten that up for accessibility. We often refer to WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2. 1 regarding accessibility standards because it’s so widely used. WCAG 2. 0 is ISO standard 40500. There is no update to the ISO standard, and there is no new ISO standard for WCAG 2. 1. It is important to note that WCAG is for the web and not PDFs. Sometimes WCAG wants you to do something to your webpage that isn’t supported in PDF. Occasionally, the PDF specifications will require you to do things differently because it is not web technology (like links in PDFs needing Alt text/Contents). Contents are a properties field for Link Annotations. It is a formal name for a descriptor that the standard calls for. (Alt text, Actual text, Expansion Text, Contents, Tooltips, Language – are some similar properties. The PDF/UA spec – ISO 14289 – is the accessibility standard specific to PDF. So, it takes what is allowed in a PDF and reins that in for accessibility. Running a standard check may be the most essential step for... --- ### Cerebral Palsy (CP) Awareness Day 2023 - Published: 2023-03-16 - Modified: 2023-03-15 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/cerebral-palsy-cp-awareness-day-2023/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility In honor of Cerebral Palsy (CP) Awareness Day on March 25, I want to share some facts and figures about CP. I will share my firsthand experiences of living with CP, the challenges I have faced, and the opportunities I have received from living with a disability. The CDC defines CP as “a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. ” It is the most common childhood motor disease, meaning it affects the movements of certain muscles in the body. About 1 in 345 children in the U. S. are diagnosed with CP. CP is caused by abnormal brain development or brain damage that affects muscle control. Symptoms vary from person to person, and although they may change throughout a person’s lifetime, they do not get worse. There are four main types of CP: spastic, dyskinetic, ataxic, and mixed. Spastic CP, the kind I have, is the most common type and affects about 80% of people with CP. People with spastic CP have increased muscle tone, meaning muscles are stiff and can result in awkward body movements. People with dyskinetic CP have difficulty controlling their hands, arms, feet, and legs. Body movements are uncontrollable and can either be slow or fast. People with dyskinetic CP may also have difficulty sucking, swallowing, or talking. People with ataxic CP have balance and coordination issues and difficulty controlling their bodies when they reach for things. These people may also have problems with activities requiring significant... --- ### Justice Department Releases First Section 508 Report Since 2012 - Published: 2023-03-13 - Modified: 2023-03-13 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/justice-department-releases-first-section-508-report-since-2012/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance The report comes after lawmakers raised bipartisan concerns about agencies’ continued inability to meet federal technology accessibility standards. Concerns Raised Over Federal Technology Accessibility Standards The Justice Department's release of its first Section 508 report since 2012 marks a significant moment in the push for greater accessibility in federal technology. The report comes after lawmakers raised bipartisan concerns about agencies' continued inability to meet federal technology accessibility standards. It represents an important step toward making government services more accessible to people with disabilities. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires federal agencies to ensure that their electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities. The law was enacted in 1998, but enforcement has been inconsistent. In 2017, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum directing agencies to improve their compliance with Section 508. The memo required agencies to report on their progress and to designate a Section 508 coordinator to oversee compliance efforts. Despite these efforts, progress has been slow. The Justice Department's report found that only 38% of agencies were fully compliant with Section 508. This is a slight improvement over the 2012 report, which found that only 25% of agencies were fully compliant. However, it still represents a significant gap between the requirements of the law and the actual state of federal technology accessibility. The report highlights several areas where agencies need to improve. For example, the report found that many agencies do not have a comprehensive plan for ensuring accessibility, and that testing for accessibility is often inadequate. Additionally, the report found that agencies often fail to provide accessible alternatives... --- ### Why are All PDFs Not Accessible by Default, and Can Accessible PDFs be Edited, If Needed? - Published: 2023-03-09 - Modified: 2023-03-08 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/why-pdfs-not-accessible-by-default-can-accessible-pdfs-edited/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: pdf accessibility When working with motivated and capable accessibility professionals, one of the common questions we hear is, “why isn’t accessibility automatic when creating a PDF? ” It is frustrating to realize that the only way to make your document accessible is a manual process that can take significant time, effort, and knowledge. The logical questions quickly arise – “why aren’t PDFs accessible by default? ”, “do document-creation tools even care about accessibility? ”, or “is there a better way? ” Improving document accessibility lies mainly with document authors and document-creation software. It Starts with Authoring Document authors play a valuable and powerful role in creating accessible documents. When an author prioritizes accessibility and uses the right tools, they can single-handedly revolutionize the document-creation process at their organization. On the other hand, a careless or untrained author can cripple an organization’s ability to create accessible content. An organization leader was once asked, “are your documents are accessible? ” They replied quite proudly, “Yes, I can find them whenever I need them. ” This doesn’t demonstrate poor intentions but rather a profound lack of understanding of what document accessibility means. And when a document author lacks the basic knowledge of what document accessibility really means, it could prove disastrous for their organization and all the people that try to read or interact with their content. An uninformed author may prioritize the appearance of their document over the functionality required for accessibility. As accessibility experts, we have seen countless beautifully designed documents that cannot... --- ### The Human Experience of Accessibility – Story #2 - Published: 2023-03-03 - Modified: 2023-03-06 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/the-human-experience-of-accessibility-story-2/ - Categories: Articles Accessibility awareness has improved substantially in recent years—in fact, it wasn’t long ago that many people with disabilities could not use the internet without many barriers. And while this improvement in accessibility awareness has been very positive, there is still a long way to go.   Many organizations began their focus on accessibility simply for the sole reason of being compliant with the law—but did not take into consideration the human experience behind their accessibility-inclusive efforts. As such, there are many accessibility tools scattered throughout the world of technology that miss the mark entirely. After all, accessibility shouldn’t be about legal issues; it should always be about real people and their unique experiences. To combat the challenges mentioned above and hurdles, we believe it’s important to showcase the real human experiences of people with disabilities, how they navigate the world through modern technology, and what good VS bad interaction means to them. What is Assistive Technology (AT)? Before we jump into real-life stories, I want to distinguish what Assistive technology, or AT, is.   AT is “any item, piece of equipment, software program, or product system designed to increase, maintain, or improve the functionality of persons with disabilities. ” Additionally, AT can be low-tech, like basic communication boards, or high-tech, like special computers. Wheelchairs, walkers, and braces can all be AT, too. Digital accessibility challenges of a user with physical impairment  This month we are highlighting one of Allyant’s very own: Sam. Sam’s story and the hurdles that Sam faces... --- ### PDF Accessibility: Testing and Verification - Published: 2023-02-23 - Modified: 2023-01-27 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/pdf-accessibility-testing-and-verification/ - Categories: Articles, Tips and Tricks STEP 8: PDF VALIDATOR The Final Step to PDF Accessibility In previous articles for our 2018 series on PDF accessibility, we covered all the major aspects of remediating PDF documents. Now we will focus on the best ways to ensure that your work is complete, so you can be confident that your documents meet the accessibility standards. If you have been keeping up with this series, congratulations on making it to the end! Here’s what you have learned to do: Tags & Reading Order Metadata Color & Contrast Alt Text Lists Tables Other Tagging In this eighth and final article of the series, we will focus on achieving WCAG 2. 0 AA and PDF/UA standards because they are the most widely used. And if you were paying attention, you’ll notice we started with seven steps, but ended up with nine. We divided Lists and Tables into two separate categories. Tip: CommonLook PDF makes it possible to remediate to those standards. Both CommonLook PDF and our PDF Validator allow you test to Section 508 , WCAG 2. 0, HHS and PDF/UA. Isn’t Adobe Acrobat Pro Enough? While Acrobat has an “Accessibility Full Check” report, the Acrobat checker is not a complete test and is not a complete remediation solution. Passing the Acrobat checker does not guarantee compliance with any standards. Acrobat will even let you save a compliance report, but that report does not warrant your work meets 100% of the checkpoints of Section 508, WCAG 2. 0 AA, HHS or PDF/UA.... --- ### Final Steps to Ensuring Accessible PDF Documents - Published: 2023-02-16 - Modified: 2023-01-27 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/final-steps-to-ensuring-accessible-pdf-documents/ - Categories: Articles, Tips and Tricks STEP 7: OTHER TAGGING In this series of articles, we’ve discussed how to identify and address all sorts of PDF accessibility issues including headings, reading order, lists, tables and metadata. In this article we’ll provide some “other things to consider” while you’re making sure your PDFs are accessible. Learn how assistive technologies (AT) work, so you can make “best practice” decisions. When teaching PDF remediation classes, I’m often asked, “How will a screen reader read that? ” The more you know, the more you can consider, and the better user experiences you can create whether you’re a document designer or remediating PDFs created by others. Remove Empty Tags. Empty tags can be annoying or even problematic, especially for people using AT (some screen readers will say “Blank” for every empty tag). While, in general, you want to make sure you delete empty tags, an exception to this rule would be if you need empty cells in your data tables to keep them “regularly shaped. ” Tip: CommonLook PDF will automatically – and safely – remove empty tags, without messing up your data tables! Set the Tab Order to follow the document structure for pages that have link and/or form annotations. Tip: The Fix Wizard in CommonLook PDF will do this for you automatically! Add the tag. Why? It indicates that “This is one full and complete document. ” Tip: You can easily do this in CommonLook PDF! Create bookmarks to match the headings in the document. When people are using... --- ### Demystifying PDF Tables - Published: 2023-02-09 - Modified: 2023-06-13 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/demystifying-pdf-tables/ - Categories: Articles, Tips and Tricks When it comes to PDF accessibility, tables present a host of potential problems. In this article, we’ll examine some of the more common uses of tables, the potential issues they can introduce and how to address those issues. This is the sixth in an eight-part article series. STEP 6: TABLES Presentation Tables Document creators will often use the table functionality in whatever authoring program they’re using to help layout the content on the page. This can be an easy way to make stuff all line up, have consistent spacing when formatting text, etc. , into columns and more. Then, so that it doesn’t look like a table, they’ll hide the cell borders. Unfortunately, this creates problems from an accessibility standpoint. When a screen reader lands on a Table tag in the Tags tree, it will tell the user that there’s a “table of X number of columns and Y number of rows. ” As it reads the table it tries to find column and/or row headers and associate the data in the table to those headers. Of course, when authors use tables just for formatting, none of that structural information is accurate. The solution here is pretty straightforward. Take the content out of the Table and tag it properly with Paragraph (or other) tags that are more semantically appropriate. In other words, use the most accurate tag for the content. Fortunately, CommonLook PDF makes this process incredibly easy. All remediators have to do is select the Table tag and then open its context men (or navigate to... --- ### How to Make Your Social Media Accessible: 6 Things You Need to Know - Published: 2023-02-02 - Modified: 2023-02-01 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-make-your-social-media-accessible-6-things-you-need-to-know/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: accessibility software Social media makes it easy to promote your company and services and interact with your customers and prospects. To meet accessibility guidelines, social media platforms have made some improvements, like adding the ability to include alternative text to images. However, social media platforms have generally been less than stellar regarding access for consumers with disabilities. As you leverage social media platforms to enhance your brand image or reach, accessibility should be top of mind. According to the CDC, over 25% of the US population lives with a disability. As leading social platforms provide more tools to enable an accessible experience, most of the responsibility falls on social and digital marketers to deliver accessible content. Below, we have outlined some best practices to keep in mind when sharing content on your social media feeds: 1. Add alt text/image descriptions. As previously mentioned, several social media platforms allow content authors to add alternative (alt) text to images. Screen reader software transcribes the alt text to either a refreshable braille display—a device that converts text to braille—or a screen reader that reads the alt text aloud. Platforms such as Facebook use artificial intelligence to create alt text for images automatically. However, the automatically generated alt text is often over-simplified or inaccurate. Because of this, it is always better to manually enter alt text when posting images; usually, a sentence or two suffices. Below is a screenshot showing where to add alt text to an image uploaded to a LinkedIn post. Be sure to... --- ### PDF Accessibility: Lists - Published: 2023-02-01 - Modified: 2023-02-02 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/pdf-accessibility-lists/ - Categories: Articles, Tips and Tricks Learn why PDF lists can cause accessibility issues, how to setup lists correctly from the source and how to fix PDF list problems. This is the fifth in an eight-part article series. STEP 5: LISTS Why Lists Can Create Accessibility Issues When someone is using a screen reader or other assistive technology to read a document and it comes to a List (or L) tag in the Tags tree, it’ll tell the person “List of (however many) items” and then it’ll start to read the list. In addition, when the list is done, the screen reader will say “Out of list. ” This conveys important information about the structure and the content in the document. So, if there’s a list in the physical view, it needs to be tagged correctly! Be Proactive: Create Accessible Lists at the Source When writing a document, and choosing to include a list, make sure that you use the list functionality if/when it’s available in the authoring software. Before computerized word processing, people would create lists simply by typing a number, letter, symbol, etc. , pressing the Space bar a few times, and then typing the text for the list. For the second and subsequent list items, they’d hit Enter and repeat the process. Fortunately, now, we can take advantage of the list creating functionality available in Word, PowerPoint and other authoring programs. Not only does it make creating and formatting lists easier but there’s also a built-in benefit that the list is more likely... --- ### Alternative Text (Alt-text) Accessibility Guidelines - Published: 2023-01-26 - Modified: 2023-10-31 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/alternative-text-alt-text-accessibility-guidelines/ - Categories: Articles, Tips and Tricks One of the first steps to web and document accessibility, providing accurate and appropriate descriptions for an image, can be critical to the overall goal of ensuring that content is accessible. Alt-text is often thought of as just an accessibility requirement, but beyond being read by screen readers to provide information on the meaning and content of a graphic image, it serves several other important functions. This is the fourth in an eight-part article series. STEP 4: ALT-TEXT Continuing our article series on accessibility requirements, Alternative Text or Alt-Text is an area that is often misunderstood. One of the first steps to web and document accessibility, providing accurate and appropriate descriptions for an image, can be critical to the overall goal of ensuring that content is accessible. Alt-text is often thought of as just an accessibility requirement. Still, beyond being read by screen readers to provide information on the meaning and content of a graphic image, it serves several other vital functions such as: Browsers will display the alt-text instead of the image if the file does not load or if the viewer is not viewing images. Search engines will use the alt-text description to determine the content of the image. One best practice to consider is that the alt-text descriptions should be written by the document’s original author, as they would know best why the image was included in the web content or document.   In this article, we will focus on providing proper alt-text for documents, so only some... --- ### Color and Contrast for Accessibility - Published: 2023-01-19 - Modified: 2023-06-13 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/color-and-contrast-for-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles This is the third in an eight-part article series. STEP 3: COLOR & CONTRAST Color and Contrast Best Practices for Accessibility As part of our series of articles on what is required to ensure PDF documents are accessible, we will be discussing color and proper contrast. The WCAG 2. 0 standards address both issues and it is probably best to start there when laying out the requirements for proper use of color and contrast. Color Considerations for Accessible Designs The WCAG 2. 0 Criterion 1. 4. 1 states the following regarding use of color: “Color is not used as the only visual means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element. ” What does this mean in plain English? It is straightforward as there is no actual restriction in the use of a color in a document, with the exception that some colors may not be a good choice when we discuss proper contrast. What this does mean is that you cannot use color alone to represent important information, determine a response or to represent a visual content. A simple example that is commonly used by authors is to use green text to indicate good information and red text to indicate negative information. While there is nothing wrong with the red or green text, if the only way to determine what is good or bad information is indicated by color choices, this represents a failure of the WCAG 2. 0 Criterion 1. 4. 1 requirements, where... --- ### The Relevance of Metadata in Accessible PDFs - Published: 2023-01-12 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/the-relevance-of-metadata-in-accessible-pdfs/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance This is the second in an eight-part article series. STEP 2: METADATA What is Metadata in a PDF File? The term PDF metadata refers to searchable fields within the document’s properties that identify what the document is about. Ideally, PDF metadata should be as accurate and specific as possible to make it easier to find through search. Some of the components that make up metadata are: Title Author Subject Keywords Document Language Let’s break down each of these items, delineate them as needed and identify the accessibility concerns around them. Access Metadata for Title, Author, Subject and Keywords by opening a PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro and go to File > Properties > Description PDF Metadata: Title The Title, which is not the same thing as the file name, should succinctly and accurately describe what the document is about. For accessibility, the title metadata is a requirement. If we titled this article “The Migration Patterns of the Peregrine Falcon,” and then started going on about metadata, that wouldn’t be very helpful, would it? It’s not nice to frustrate the people you serve. Always make sure the title correctly reflects the subject matter of the PDF. Accessibility requirements mandate that PDF Titles need to be displayed when the document is opened, as opposed to the File Name. Let’s face it, some documents have very cryptic file names with dates, versions, editor’s initials and all other kinds of things that aren’t terribly informative to the end user. Descriptive PDF Titles solve this problem. In addition, if your organization needs... --- ### PDF Tagging and Reading Order   - Published: 2023-01-05 - Modified: 2023-01-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/pdf-tagging-and-reading-order/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: pdf reading order, pdf tags This is the first of an eight-part series on PDF Accessibility STEP 1: TAGS & READING ORDER Making sure that PDFs are accessible to everyone, including those using assistive technologies like screen readers, refreshable braille displays, screen magnifiers, etc. , can be a daunting technical process.  In this article, we’ll address two basic PDF accessibility concepts – tagging and reading order.  Then, in subsequent articles, we’ll address more specific topics in PDF accessibility.   What is a Tagged PDF? Tags in a PDF are similar to simple HTML code; paragraphs of text in a PDF go into tags, images go into tags (more details about this in a future article), heading text goes into tags. These heading tags are numbered H1, H2, H3, and so on, to show the document’s organization, structure and hierarchy. Tags add behind the scenes coding to a PDF, so they can be read by assistive technologies (AT).  When these assistive technologies read PDFs to people, they read the information from the tags.  Therefore, if a PDF isn’t tagged, there’s basically nothing to read. This is why properly tagging PDFs is critical.   There are other tags that may be used such as with table row, header, and data cells inside, (list) with (list items) containing label and list body tags. For this article, we’ll keep it simple. How to Tag a PDF  Adobe Acrobat Pro is the best tool PDF tagging.  Using Acrobat, there are a couple of ways to go about tagging a PDF.  One way is to use their Reading Order tool (in earlier versions this was known as the Touch–Up Reading Order or TURO tool).   The tool offers an... --- ### Braille Writing with Braille Keyboards - Published: 2022-12-08 - Modified: 2023-01-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/braille-writing-with-braille-keyboards/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: braille Braille writing and creating braille documents can be done in a few different ways. Individuals with blindness or low vision can use a standard keyboard if they have memorized the placement of the keys on the keyboard, they can use a braille keyboard, or they can use a Perkins or SMART brailler. Keyboards paired with a braille embosser can be used to print pages out in braille. Standard Keyboards and Braille Embossers Individuals with blindness or low vision can use a standard keyboard once they memorize the placement of the letters, numbers, and characters on the keyboard. Standard keyboards can be used to input data and information into a computer that is connected to a braille embosser or printer. Braille printers receive the information from the computer and embossing pins transfer that information into tactile dots on heavyweight paper. Generally, braille pages are printed one-sided, but there are braille printers capable of printing on both sides of the paper. What is a Braille Keyboard? Braille keyboards are specialty keyboards that contain single keys that represent each of the dots in a braille cell. To type a letter in braille the user would press a combination of the keys needed to create that braille character. Braille keyboards are especially useful for individuals who are familiar with braille characters and less familiar with the keys of a standard keyboard. There are only 8 keys that need to be memorized on a braille keyboard. Braille keyboards use the following six keys to type... --- ### Four Reasons You Need PDF Validator - Published: 2022-11-17 - Modified: 2023-01-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/four-reasons-you-need-pdf-validator/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance, PDF Validator - Tags: pdf checker, validator tool We put a lot of emphasis on things like authoring Word documents with accessibility in mind and remediating existing PDFs for accessibility and compliance but, at the end of the day, how do you really *know* that your PDF is accessible? You have to test it. Validator Tools There are three popular tools for testing PDFs – Adobe Acrobat, PAC-3 and PDF Validator. Here are four reasons why Allyant’s CommonLook PDF Validator needs to be the tool in your accessibility toolbox: 1-Cost. It’s free with no restrictions for your own use. Works as a plugin for Adobe Acrobat. 2-Depth. PDF Validator is the only checker that tests against all of the accessibility standards including WCAG 2. 0, WCAG 2. 1*, PDF/UA and both the original and the revised HHS standards. (The Acrobat “Full Check” doesn’t actually test against, or certify compliance with, all of the WCAG 2. 0 checkpoints and, while PAC-3 claims to test against PDF/UA, it misses a lot of things, like verifying accuracy of alternative text, etc. , that are crucial for accessibility. ) 3-Accuracy. For accurate testing and reporting, users can change the verification status of any checkpoint to “Passed” or “Failed” as needed, so that remediators reviewing the compliance report can easily tell what issues still need to be addressed in the PDF. 4-Reporting. You can generate an accessible report based on testing. Because Allyant has been actively involved in the development and evolution of PDF accessibility standards over the years, you have the assurance... --- ### Allyant Celebrates Assistive Technology Awareness Month! - Published: 2022-11-15 - Modified: 2023-01-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/allyant-celebrates-assistive-technology-awareness-month/ - Categories: Accessible Technology, Articles - Tags: accessibility software, disability To celebrate, let’s discuss the impact of various AT devices on the lives of people with disabilities, including some of my personal experiences with AT. November is Assistive Technology (AT) Awareness Month! To celebrate, let’s discuss the impact of various AT devices on the lives of people with disabilities, including some of my personal experiences with AT. What is Assistive Technology (AT)? Assistive technology, or AT, is “any item, piece of equipment, software program, or product system designed to increase, maintain, or improve the functionality of persons with disabilities. ” AT can be low-tech, like basic communication boards, or high-tech, like special computers. Wheelchairs, walkers, and braces can all be AT too. My AT Story As a person with a disability, I have used various AT devices. I rely on AT for both professional and personal purposes. Without these devices, I would most likely not have the quality of life I do. I have cerebral palsy and use a power wheelchair, so my wheelchair is the AT device that is most essential to my daily life. Without my power wheelchair, I couldn’t get around independently. I would have to rely on someone whenever I wanted to go somewhere. On the software side of AT, I used AudioNote in college. AudioNote is a voice recording app for iOS, Android, and desktop. Because it is difficult to write, I used it to record lectures (with permission from the teacher). The app also allows you to type notes. When you click on them, the app plays the note for you in audio format. Kurzweil 3000 is another AT software program that helped me immensely in college. I would... --- ### 3 Quick and Easy Ways to Tell if a PDF is Accessible - Published: 2022-11-10 - Modified: 2023-02-06 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/3-quick-and-easy-ways-to-tell-if-a-pdf-is-accessible/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance, Education, PDF Validator - Tags: accessibility testing, pdf accessibility, pdf validator If a PDF cannot be read and navigated by everyone, including people with vision impairments or other disabilities, then the PDF is not accessible. A PDF document that is not designed with accessibility in mind fails to make very important, and sometimes critical information available to all users. This is why it is critical to ensure that all PDFs hosted on a website, server, database, app or any other digital asset are digitally accessible to everyone. Accessible PDFs help disseminate the content of the document to everyone and protect the organization from accessibility-related lawsuits. How to check if a PDF is accessible? The tricky thing about accessible and inaccessible PDF documents is that they, in most cases, look the same. In other words, they are visually identical. Therefore, it’s almost impossible for most users to tell whether the PDF they are looking at is accessible by looking at their physical view. We have a detailed article about the differences between accessible and inaccessible PDFs; you can read it here: Accessible versus Inaccessible PDF documents 3 ways to quickly check whether a PDF is accessible 1 – Select the text in the PDF This is the easiest and most convenient way to check whether a PDF is accessible. If there is text in the PDF, try selecting the text or select all using Edit > Select All from the top menu in Adobe Acrobat. If instead of the text, the entire page gets selected (this is the most common case), then... --- ### Allyant’s Platinum-Level Membership to IAAP - Published: 2022-11-03 - Modified: 2023-01-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/allyants-platinum-level-membership-to-iaap/ - Categories: News Allyant announces platinum-level membership to the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) to support commitment to global accessibility inclusion November 3, 2022—Ottawa, Canada—Allyant, the world’s first comprehensive accessibility solutions company, announced today its platinum membership in the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)—a not-for-profit membership-based organization for individuals and organizations focused on accessibility and building accessibility skills and strategies. IAAP’s objective is to help accessibility professionals develop and advance their careers, supporting organizations in integrating accessibility into their services, products, and infrastructure. Allyant’s 2022-2023 membership allows all its employees to leverage IAAP’s professional training and certifications, contribute to research and publications, engage with the SME virtual networking communities, and be a prominent partner at the renowned M-Enabling Summit. “We are delighted to have Allyant as an IAAP member,” said Christopher Lee, G3ict Vice President, & IAAP Managing Director at the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs. “Allyant is united in IAAP’s mission to increase the number of accessibility professionals worldwide—helping to define, promote, and improve the accessibility profession through certification, education, and networking. IAAP looks forward to having Allyant as part of that ever-expanding professional network. ” “Becoming a platinum-level member of IAAP is the perfect opportunity for Allyant to connect with a like-minded organization with similar goals and a vision for a better tomorrow,” commented Ariel Kunar, Allyant’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are extremely honored to become a member of the global IAAP community, standing side-by-side with dedicated accessibility professionals from around the world. ” Allyant, a newly introduced brand,... --- ### Knowledge is power. How to personally validate whether or not your online documents are accessible. - Published: 2022-11-03 - Modified: 2023-01-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/knowledge-is-power-how-to-personally-validate-whether-or-not-your-online-documents-are-accessible/ - Categories: Articles, Tips and Tricks Can you be assured all the content on your website is accessible to people with disabilities—including those with visual impairments? No organization is exempt from accessibility legislation. Yes, larger companies like Target, Wells Fargo, and Netflix are more likely to make headlines for million-dollar lawsuits brought against them. But every day, smaller companies are also being sued for lack of compliance—resulting in massive legal fees, lowered productivity, decreased employee and customer engagement, and bad press. All this to say, it is critical to your organization’s well-being to ensure your website can be accessed by people who are blind, visually impaired, cognitively impaired, or color-blind. And that means your online content must follow several compliance standards. Ensuring your online content follows global standards like WCAG and PDF/UA can significantly reduce your risks of digital accessibility non-compliance. However, achieving that level of compliance can be a massive undertaking. And without an expert digital accessibility audit, it can be challenging to know if your entire website is properly accessible (or just a metaphorical “sitting duck” for a lawsuit). But it’s not all bad news! You can do things yourself to get started on your journey to accessibility. And it begins with looking at the PDF documents on your website. Defining an accessible PDF As the native file format of the Adobe Acrobat family of products, the Portable Document Format—aka PDF—is widely used by government and private organizations on their websites, apps, and other digital offerings. The format’s popularity is due to users being... --- ### How Do You Check If A PDF Is Accessible? - Published: 2022-11-03 - Modified: 2023-01-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-do-you-check-if-a-pdf-is-accessible/ - Categories: Articles, Education, PDF Validator - Tags: pdf validator, validator tool To check if a PDF document is accessible, you need software like CommonLook’s PDF Validator, which tests the PDF against accessibility standards like Section 508, WCAG 2. 0 AA, PDF/UA and HHS standards. PDF Validator generates a certification report that tells you whether your PDF document is accessible or not. Did you know that a blind man sued Domino’s pizza because the latter’s website was inaccessible to the blind? Similarly, a blind woman filed a lawsuit against Beyonce’s official website because it violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by denying visually impaired users equal access to products and services offered on the site. The web is filled with millions upon millions of digital documents, websites and apps. It is a shame that over 90 percent of all web content is inaccessible to the disabled, which comprise 15% of the world’s population. Shouldn’t they be able to access digital information too? Why do you need to make a PDF accessible? PDF documents are everywhere. In fact, PDF documents comprise a remarkable portion of all digital files – whether it’s a bank statement, digital invoice, job posting, product brochure or application form. Those with visual disabilities do not “read” PDFs the same way sighted people do. While someone with normal vision can see the contents of a PDF document, a blind person needs to print it in braille or hear it. A visually impaired individual can read these documents with assistive technologies like braille printers and screen readers (such as JAWS or... --- ### Allyant Celebrates the 10th Anniversary of Unified English Braille - Published: 2022-11-02 - Modified: 2023-01-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-does-ueb-mean-braille-which-countries-why-created/ - Categories: Articles, News Unified English Braille, also known as UEB, is a braille code designed by the International Council on English Braille (ICEB). The primary goal behind designing the UEB was to simplify and unify the braille system for encoding English. People with vision impairment have used braille to access literary material for decades. However, just like all literary material is not alike, all braille is not the same. There are several official braille coding systems, including: Literary code Math notation and science notation codes Textbook formats and techniques code UEB created a singular braille code for English-speaking countries worldwide. As we celebrate the historic 10th anniversary of UEB adoption, let’s take a quick look at why UEB was adopted, which countries use it, and its significance in braille’s evolution. What does UEB mean in braille? UEB stands for Unified English Braille. As the name suggests, it’s a braille code standard used by many English-speaking countries today, including the United States, to represent and unify the code for literary and technical materials. Why was UEB created? Since braille’s creation in 1892, it has undergone many changes. For example, the development of rules to represent literary text, technical and scientific material, and even special characters (like @ and #). Different countries used different coding systems, creating even more variety in an already complex set of rules. This created significant problems for braille users who wished to read, access, or write large amounts of material written by a foreign entity. The main reason for creating... --- ### How Does Accessibility Work in PDFs? - Published: 2022-10-27 - Modified: 2023-01-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-does-accessibility-work-in-pdfs/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance, Education, Government, PDF Validator - Tags: pdf accessibility, pdf accessibility defined, testing pdf accessibility PDF accessibility is a component of the overall document accessibility of a website or other digital assets. We know that buildings, sidewalks, transportation and public spaces must be accessible to people with disabilities, but what does accessibility mean in the context of the digital space? Digital accessibility requires that an electronic or digital asset is easily opened, read, understood and navigated by everyone, including those with disabilities. PDF accessibility works by allowing people with disabilities like vision impairment, color blindness, hearing loss or certain cognitive disabilities to experience the document the way it was intended. Since people with disabilities do not access PDF documents the same way sighted users do, PDF accessibility becomes critical. Portable Document Format (PDF) is one of the most popular digital formats for all types of documents, including invoices, instructions, statements, e-books, applications, etc. Of course, most organizations around the world store and publish a large number of PDF documents on their websites, apps and other digital offerings. All digital media (including PDFs) stored on your hard drive, server or website must be accessible. What is PDF accessibility? PDF accessibility makes PDF documents accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. The physical view of an accessible PDF is usually identical to that of a non-accessible PDF. So if you are not generally familiar with accessible documents, you may not be able to distinguish an accessible PDF from an inaccessible one. This is one of the main reasons why many organizations still publish accessible PDFs on their... --- ### Accessible Textbooks for Students with Visual Impairments—How Educators Can Flip the Script on Speed and Quality - Published: 2022-10-26 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/accessible-textbooks-for-students-with-visual-impairments-how-educators-can-flip-the-script-on-speed-and-quality/ - Categories: Articles, Education If you’re in the education sector, you know that time is of the essence when it comes to producing textbooks and other accessible materials for students with visual impairments. In fact, the time it takes to get alternate formats into the classroom for students who are blind or have low vision is a widespread ongoing challenge across departments of education, school boards, and individual educational institutions. That’s because—depending on the complexity and size of the materials—transcription can often take months. By the time the student receives the transcribed version, the class curriculum has moved on, and fellow classmates are lightyears ahead in their studies. Adding to the problem, even when textbooks do arrive in a timely manner, you often see a troublesome trade-off between speed and quality. All students should have the opportunity to reach their full academic potential. But many with visual impairments don’t have equal access to the information they need to learn. As a result, students who are blind or have low vision deal with ongoing frustration, increasingly lower engagement, and less motivation to learn. So what can be done to ensure students don’t fall behind? A lot of it comes down to choosing the right alternate format provider (aka remediation service) for your textbooks and educational materials—and knowing what qualities to look for. Firstly, the best alternate format companies for educational institutions specialize heavily in the transcription of textbooks on complex topics. While this may sound obvious, many companies are actually unable to produce truly accessible... --- ### Using CommonLook PDF Validator to Test Documents - Published: 2022-10-20 - Modified: 2023-01-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/using-commonlook-pdf-validator-to-test-documents/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance, PDF Validator - Tags: pdf checker, pdf validator You have converted your document into a PDF. It is tagged, yet you still need to know if it is accessible and compliant. You *could* test the PDF with a screen reader. However, that may not be a practical testing method if the document is very long or if you do not know how to use a screen reader. Just because a document reads one way with one screen reader does not mean it will read correctly with others. The only way to know for sure is to test it against accessibility standards. PDF Checker Features  Many people wrongly believe that the Acrobat Check tests against WCAG 2. 0. It does not. The PAC-3 checker says it tests against PDF/UA.  However, both checkers fall short in testing things like color use, contrast, accurate alternative text on images and links, the proper use of headings and reading order, plus the accuracy of tooltips. CommonLook PDF Validator beats the competition in six key areas: Cost (it’s free) Depth Accuracy Usability Reporting Accessibility CommonLook PDF Validator The Federal Government took a while to update the Section 508 standard and make it WCAG 2. 0 AA.  Many organizations, state and local governments’ “rules” require websites and documents “comply with WCAG 2. 0AA or a subsequent version. ” This proactive approach ensures that, as standards change, organizations keep up-to-date. To that end, Allyant is staying current. We make sure that, as standards and requirements are updated, these changes are implemented in our software; a claim... --- ### Refreshable Braille Display: Types of RBD, How it Works and Why it Matters in Web Design - Published: 2022-10-19 - Modified: 2023-01-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/refreshable-braille-display-types-of-rbd-how-it-works-and-why-it-matters-in-web-design/ - Categories: Accessible Technology, Articles Digital accessibility is about ensuring your online content can be accessed by as many people as possible—including those who use assistive devices to read braille. Some people who can read braille may use audio-only screen readers. However, listening to speech is often more time-consuming than reading and typing in braille. As well, many people who are legally blind can perceive shapes and colors—so they may prefer to browse using a screen reader as well as a mouse. That’s where refreshable braille displays (RBDs) come in. In this article, we will explain the basics of RBDs—and how to ensure your website is designed to improve the experiences of people who use them. What is a refreshable braille display? A refreshable braille display (or RBD) is a tactile electronic device that—when connected to another device such as a computer, smartphone or tablet—displays text as braille. But how does that work? How does a refreshable braille display work? The flat-surface RBD raises and lowers small pins in different combinations, reflecting the words on the screen of the connected device. Visually impaired computer users can then move their fingers across the ever-changing braille cells on their RBC—enabling them to read text output. The RBD translates one line of text into braille at a time, using the content from the other device. As the cursor moves from line-to-line across and down the screen, this results in braille that is continuously changing—and therefore “refreshable. ” Types of refreshable braille displays There are three main types of... --- ### What Is A PDF Accessibility Checker? What Does It Do? - Published: 2022-10-13 - Modified: 2024-08-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-a-pdf-accessibility-checker-what-does-it-do/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance, Government, PDF Validator - Tags: accessibility checker, Accessible PDF, pdf accessibility, pdf accessibility software A PDF accessibility checker is a digital tool that checks whether a PDF document is accessible (readable) to everyone, including people with visual disabilities. CommonLook PDF Validator and PAC3 are two powerful PDF accessibility checkers that check the accessibility of PDF documents. The Portable Document Format, abbreviated as PDF, is the native file format of the Adobe Acrobat family of products. The format allows users to view and share electronic documents conveniently and without the loss of any information. This is important because the loss of even the smallest bit of information can potentially tamper the overall accuracy and value of the document in question. Thanks to the power of this format, most government and private organizations all over the world publish PDF documents on their websites, apps and other digital offerings which are then accessed by the general public. But here’s the problem: most PDF documents published online are not truly accessible. In other words, they may not be read (in the way they were intended) by everyone, including people with disabilities. This is where PDF accessibility comes into the picture. What is PDF accessibility? A PDF document is considered accessible if it can be read by everyone, including people with disabilities; this includes access by people who are blind, visually impaired, cognitively impaired or color-blind. An accessible PDF makes it easier for people with disabilities to access PDF documents with the aid of assistive technology software and devices, like screen magnifiers, screen readers, speech-recognition software, text-to-speech software, alternative... --- ### The Human Experience of Accessibility – Story #1 - Published: 2022-09-21 - Modified: 2023-03-02 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/the-human-experience-of-accessibility-browsing-the-web-vision-impaired/ - Categories: Accessible Technology, Articles As an executive working for an accessibility solutions provider, I get to peer beneath the proverbial hoods of many businesses—meaning I get to witness the good, the bad, and the ugly of how organizations approach equitable access to information. More often than not, the historical influences of accessibility initiatives have often been closely tied to two distinct drivers: compliance and the law. However, in the past few years, there has been a slow but steady shift to a more people-centric approach—more and more organizations are finally beginning to consider the human experience first. After all, accessibility shouldn’t be about legal issues; it should always be about real people and their unique experiences. For this reason, we showcase real human experiences of people with visual impairments, how they navigate the world through modern technology, and what good VS bad interaction means to them. Digital accessibility challenges of a user with vision impairment For me, there is no better place to start than with my spouse—a person who began losing sight in her early twenties. Without too much medical jargon or detailed history, her vision was impacted by a bacterial eye infection that triggered the onset of ocular histoplasmosis, resulting in a complete loss of central vision. My wife’s daily experience with technology is not unlike many others. For the most part, her assistive technology choices work incredibly well for her, enabling her to access the same things that everyone else does. However, on occasion, I can definitely hear the swearing and... --- ### Thompson Street Capital Partners announces launch of Allyant—the world’s first comprehensive accessibility solutions company - Published: 2022-08-15 - Modified: 2023-01-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/thompson-street-capital-partners-announces-launch-of-allyant-the-worlds-first-comprehensive-accessibility-solutions-company/ - Categories: News - Tags: corporate news, webinar St. Louis – August 15, 2022 – Thompson Street Capital Partners (TSCP), a private equity firm based in St. Louis, today announced the launch of Allyant, forming the world’s first comprehensive accessibility solutions company. The newly established brand represents the combination of three globally recognized accessibility solutions companies, including T-Base Communications, CommonLook and Accessible360. Now, Allyant’s sole focus as a single entity is making accessibility simple, seamless, and efficient for organizations—ensuring equitable access to information for people with disabilities. The company offers a multitude of accessibility services and software solutions, spanning print and digital document remediation services, document remediation software, and digital accessibility auditing. The most prominent organizations in the world, including those in financial services, government, healthcare, and education, rely on Allyant’s solutions to create, assess, remediate, produce, and track compliant communications efficiently and cost-effectively. Allyant’s document remediation services include converting billing statements, textbooks, explanation of benefits (EOB), and marketing communications to accessible formats such as accessible PDF (PDF/UA), reflowed large print and braille. Additionally, customers can engage via digital accessibility auditing services to address websites, client portals, mobile apps, enterprise platforms and more during the design & build phase or post-launch. Allyant also boasts a highly robust suite of software products. The CL Software Suite delivers unparalleled solutions that help end-users and enterprises create, test, and remediate documents manually and automatically at low and high volumes. “Allyant represents the long history, focus and subject matter expertise of multiple companies coming together—all known for developing best-of-breed accessibility solutions,” said Ariel... --- ### Is Google Maps Accessible? - Published: 2022-07-13 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/is-google-maps-accessible/ - Categories: Accessible Technology For years, Google Maps has been the predominant navigational tool. Since Google Maps (and maps generally) are visual by nature, they are usually difficult to navigate from an accessibility perspective, specifically for native screen readers or other visually impaired users. For brands and organizations worldwide, Google Maps is widely leveraged for maps that point to locations, offices, or additional directional guidance. The challenge with leveraging this visually rich content generally comes into play when the same brands prioritize WCAG Compliance for their website or digital properties. Most design and development teams do not control the full compliance of Google Maps. However, you can do a few things to mitigate legal risk by including a Google Map function on your website. Let’s dive into these specific elements based on our experience working with diverse clients and digital platforms. Provide a Text Equivalent The most simplistic form of providing equitable access to map data is providing an alternative and alternate means of accessing the information. For starters, ensure that there is a text-only version of the exact instructions presented in the map in addition to the map itself. Doing this will ensure that screen reader (and other) users can access the map’s instructions without being required to engage with the map function as the only means of communication. For example, perhaps your team provides a Google Map highlighting your office or store location. In this scenario, ensure this page has a text list of locations. Ensure the list is complete, shares the same data as the... --- ### Join us in celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) 2022 - Published: 2022-05-16 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/join-us-in-celebrating-global-accessibility-awareness-day-gaad-2022-2/ - Categories: Articles, News - Tags: corporate news, webinar As the CEO of a group of companies that specialize solely in accessibility solutions, I can say with pride and certainty that the GAAD Foundation remains a constant source of inspiration for us all. Moreover, as we all prepare to celebrate the 11th annual GAAD on May 19, we must recognize the tremendous impact the GAAD Foundation continues to make on advancements in digital accessibility. In particular, we acknowledge and thank Joe Devon and Jennison Asuncion for their dedication to growing this event year over year. Their commitment over the past decade to driving change within technology development to include accessibility as a core requirement results in a better world for more than one billion disabled people globally. Providing equitable access to individuals with disabilities should be everyone’s mission—and we look forward to participating in transforming that awareness into real action. But what constitutes real action? Though I’m sure there are many interpretations, I like to focus on how organizations and end-users interact with technology. As the digital age continues to evolve exponentially, many organizations struggle to ensure that their customers, partners, and team members connect in ways like never before. Making it easier for organizations to create an inclusive environment, complete with equitable access for all and without barriers to entry, is where real action becomes tangible. Here begins the definition and scope of what “digital technology” truly means. First, of course, websites play a big part in all of it. The worldwide web is the primary driver and... --- ### T-Base Communications and RevSpring Announce Joint Partnership to Deliver Accessible Digital and Print Consumer Engagement for Healthcare and Financial Services Markets - Published: 2021-12-15 - Modified: 2023-06-08 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/t-base-communications-and-revspring-announce-joint-partnership-to-deliver-accessible-digital-and-print-consumer-engagement-for-healthcare-and-financial-services-markets/ - Categories: News - Tags: corporate news T-Base Communications, the leading global provider of technology-enabled digital and print accessibility solutions, announced today that it has partnered with RevSpring—the leading provider of intelligent consumer engagement and payment solutions for healthcare and accounts receivables management markets. The new partnership enables RevSpring to deliver fully accessible consumer engagement, including billing information, across digital and print channels for visually and cognitively impaired patients and consumers, as well as those with auditory requirements. T-Base’s revolutionary approach to accessibility solutions ensures seamless inclusivity for all with disabilities. The company provides fast, secure delivery of accessible communications in various formats including accessible PDF, e-Text, HTML, audio, braille, and reflowed large print. RevSpring will integrate T-Base’s accessible PDF, braille, and reflowed large print capabilities into its omnichannel suite of engagement solutions to provide enhanced service to its healthcare and financial services markets. RevSpring’s healthcare services focus on the patient’s journey from pre-care to post-care while delivering a positive patient experience. Additionally, the company’s financial services provide consumer financial engagement and payment solutions for accounts receivables management organizations and other industries. “At RevSpring, we believe that the unique characteristics and situation of each consumer and patient contribute to the way they interact with and respond to communications,” said Scott MacKenzie, CEO of RevSpring. “That vision and philosophy are without exclusion, which is why we are thrilled to now offer our clients the ability to provide the personalized and accessible engagement experiences consumers deserve, regardless of physical impairments. ” “We are thrilled to be the accessibility solutions... --- ### A Bright New Future for the World of Accessibility - Published: 2021-11-02 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/a-bright-new-future-for-the-world-of-accessibility/ - Categories: News - Tags: corporate news T-Base Communications • Accessible360 • CommonLook As you may know, T-Base Communications has been at the forefront of document accessibility solutions and associated technologies for more than 25 years. We are proud to say that, in that time, we have purpose-built our offerings to best serve low-vision and blind customers of the world’s leading enterprise, government, and educational organizations. To continue our ever-present commitment to the community that we serve, we are always evolving. That is why earlier this year we acquired Accessible360—the nation’s leading live-user accessibility auditing firm. The company’s comprehensive range of services enable organizations to provide equitable access to all digital asset types, and to easily track and report on progress and outcomes. But to us, the value of acquisitions only comes to fruition when the merging companies share the same vision. In the case of Accessible360, the company’s brilliant team represents the same core principles as T-Base—a relentless dedication to making the world better, and ensuring equality of access for all. Now, it is with great excitement that we announce yet another significant step forward. Today, we welcome CommonLook to our rapidly growing T-Base family. CommonLook, known worldwide as the leading provider of PDF accessibility software solutions and professional services, again represents the same like-minded approach that drives our collective organization. Their team exemplifies the enthusiasm and expertise that will undoubtedly contribute to our customers’ ongoing success. Our dedication and our team remain unwavering. We will continue to develop the world’s most comprehensive suite of solutions,... --- ### CommonLook is now part of T-Base Communications - Published: 2021-10-20 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/commonlook-is-now-part-of-t-base-communications/ - Categories: News CommonLook is happy to announce that they are now part of T-Base Communications. Read the full press release here. After focusing on PDF accessibility for over 22 years, CommonLook ensures your PDFs are accessible and in compliance with the latest ADA and Section 508 regulations. . They specialize in complex projects, high-volume capacity and cutting-edge AI-driven automation. T-Base takes one file and produces it in alternate formats, including e-Text, HTML, audio, braille, PDF and reflowed large print. Without the need for IT investment, documents are delivered faster and more securely at an affordable price. Since 1994, T-Base has been the top choice for Fortune 500 companies and leading educational institutions. “We are incredibly excited for this combination,” commented CommonLook CEO Monir ElRayes. “T-Base’s strategy for the accessibility market, their strong financial backing by TSCP, and their renowned accessibility expertise make them the ideal partner for CommonLook. Most importantly, this endeavor will greatly benefit our customers—enabling us to further strengthen our relationships through a wide range of additional offerings. ” --- ### Colorado Enacts Law for Web Accessibility - Published: 2021-09-01 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/colorado-enacts-law-for-web-accessibility/ - Categories: Compliance, Government - Tags: colorado, state compliance For many years, federal government agencies have been required by Section 508 Compliance to provide equitable access to digital technology. In a landmark move for state governments, Colorado was recently the first state to enact a law mandating that state agencies provide accessible technology by complying with the WCAG Guidelines. Quite honestly, laws like this have been a long time coming. There is no excuse for any organization, let alone a federal or state government agency, to not provide equitable access to their websites and apps. As the COVID-19 pandemic exemplified, people with disabilities and the aging population were put at risk due to a lack of information and left out of the online conveniences available to others during the extended shelter-in-place orders. Everyone needs access to engage with the previously traditional “in-person” activities from the comfort of their home via a web or mobile browser. Why State Agency Compliance Matters The majority of our team saw this firsthand over the past year. Some renewed their driver’s license online (rather than waiting in a long DMV line). Others researched property tax information through their state’s Department of Revenue. We also have team members passionate about the outdoors, so they headed to their state’s DNR website to obtain a fishing license or reserve a state-owned campsite. There are seemingly endless ways the entire population engages with State Government Agencies on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. Now let’s think about the disabled community in those same scenarios. What if visually impaired or blind... --- ### Making Videos Accessible to All - Published: 2021-08-27 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/making-videos-accessible-to-all/ - Categories: Tips and Tricks - Tags: video accessibility Video has long been a great medium to convey content in more expressive and imaginative ways than text or imagery alone. Ever since their introduction to the digital environment, people have used videos to attempt to capture the spectrum of the human experience (and then some) using storytelling devices, set/background/clothing design, choreography, music, sound design, and expressive acting. How can we take a medium so complex and varied and ensure that everyone can engage with it in a meaningful way? In this article, we’ll explore the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidance and techniques like text, captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions to learn how to maximize your ability to reach diverse audiences and conform to WCAG 2. 1 Level AA. What accessibility features do you need to include? First, to satisfy Success Criterion 1. 1. 1, all videos must have some kind of text to inform visitors they are about to reach a video so they can decide which action (if any) they’d like to take. This text can be as simple as a title or a short description of the content of the video. In addition to this title or description, most videos will need some combination of captions, audio descriptions, and transcripts to satisfy various Success Criteria under Guideline 1. 2. NOTE: Your video may contain more than one of these types of content. Matrix showing which accessibility features are needed for different kinds of video content If your video contains ... Captions Transcripts Audio descriptions Spoken dialog Yes No... --- ### The National Federation of the Blind Cracks Down on Accessibility Overlay Tools - Published: 2021-07-27 - Modified: 2023-09-29 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/the-national-federation-of-the-blind-cracks-down-on-accessibility-overlay-tools/ - Categories: Accessibility Management Platform, Compliance We would all like to find a quick fix for many things in life. Regarding digital accessibility for your website or mobile app, finding a “quick fix” may seem easy, but the correct fix is required to provide equitable access to all users. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) recently provided much-needed insight on accessibility overlay tools. Allyant agrees with the NFB’s overlay insights, which resulted from resounding pushback on sponsorship in this year’s conference. In this article, we will review: The NFB’s stance on overlay tools An absolute path to creating accessible technology How to get started on the path to WCAG Compliance for your website or mobile app The NFB’s stance on overlay tools Pointedly, the National Federation of the Blind took a stand against most overlays as a solution for digital access for the blind community (native screen reader users). This information came to light in their recently released resolutions, passed during the NFB’s National Convention on July 10, 2021. NFB Resolution Regarding overlay tools, the NFB has stated: “overlay providers attempt to convince website owners that overlays are the easiest and most affordable way to protect a website owner from lawsuits and make their websites accessible and compliant with the WCAG; and we demand that overlay providers stop making misleading, unproven, and unethical claims which falsely inflate the value and effectiveness of their technology. ” In addition, the NFB called out a few specific accessibility overlay tools and distinguished where they are failing the blind community of equitable... --- ### Celebrating the 31st Anniversary of the ADA - Published: 2021-07-23 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/celebrating-the-31st-anniversary-of-the-ada/ - Categories: News July 26 marks the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA was enacted in 1990 to create a more level playing field for people with disabilities, which included requiring businesses and public transportation to have elevators and wheelchair ramps, prohibiting businesses from discriminating against potential employees with disabilities, and much more. In the digital-first age we now live in, the ADA also has significant implications in providing equitable access to websites, native applications, and all other “digital connectivity” that have become standard in our daily lives. The ADA anniversary serves as a critical reminder of the ADA’s importance to millions of Americans. However, here at A360, we strive to honor the ADA every day through our work as the nation’s leading live-user accessibility auditing company supporting organizations across every industry vertical on their path to equitable digital access. This work and audit process could not occur without many of our amazing employees who live with varying disabilities. How A360 Is Celebrating Doing our part to celebrate the 31st anniversary of the ADA, the first 31 companies that contact us and reference this blog post will receive 31% off their first-year A360 HUB subscription. Here’s what members of the A360 team had to say about what the ADA means to them: Michele Landis, Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer – “This incredible civil rights legislation is the foundation for how humans should be treated in the U. S. ; in theory it should have ended discrimination of people... --- ### PDF Accessibility Remediation Software Tools: A Detailed Comparison - Published: 2021-07-21 - Modified: 2024-01-02 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/pdf-accessibility-remediation-software-tools-review-detailed-comparison/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance, Education For many years, there have only been two tools for PDF remediation for accessibility available in the market. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC was the original tool for adding tags and editing the tags for accessibility compliance. CommonLook PDF enhances Acrobat’s deficiencies and provides the only comprehensive one-stop-shop for ensuring that documents are fully accessible and standards-compliant. Since then, however, the ever-increasing demand for compliant digital files has brought new tools to the market, claiming to make it easier to create accessible documents. So, do they deliver on their promises? What are the differences between those tools? This article will help you decide your best solution for guaranteed compliant and accessible documents. Let’s start at the beginning and talk about the traditional method of achieving fully accessible and standards-compliant documents. Document Accessibility Methodology – Adobe and CommonLook The first step to PDF accessibility-but not the only step-is a tagged PDF. Let’s define what PDF tags do and why they are essential for accessibility. When a PDF is tagged, you can review the Tag tree through the Tags panel, a separate view of the document accessed through View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panels > Tags. The tags identify content information and attributes. There are many different types of tags used to describe the content, including Headings, Paragraphs, Lists, Figures, Tables etc. Note that the Tag tree does not affect or change the visual appearance of the document. The purpose of the Tag tree is to work with screen readers and other assistive... --- ### T-Base Communications and W.W. Norton & Company Partner to Offer Braille, Large Print and Accessible PDF Versions of Textbooks in Braille - Published: 2021-05-18 - Modified: 2023-04-20 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/t-base-communications-and-w-w-norton-company-partner-to-offer-braille-large-print-and-accessible-pdf-versions-of-textbooks-in-braille/ - Categories: News This partnership benefits students who are blind or have low vision, by ensuring that they have more timely access to their course materials in their preferred alternate format. Please note that T-Base is now part of Allyant. T-Base Communications (“T-Base”), North America’s leading provider of accessible textbooks, and W. W. Norton & Company (“Norton”), the largest independent and employee-owned publisher, have partnered to offer braille, large print and accessible PDF versions of Norton textbooks for top-selling titles, with a goal to revolutionize how schools and students acquire accessible learning materials. Students who are blind or have low vision often prefer to learn from a braille, large print or accessible PDF version of their textbook, however procuring these versions has traditionally been a time-intensive and costly process. This process has created considerable challenges that often result in students falling behind in their studies or even dropping a course. Allyant can now deliver Norton’s top-selling titles in braille and large print significantly faster – within 10 business days – and at a substantial cost reduction to educators. Procuring accessible textbooks through this more efficient process allows students to stay on pace with their academic calendar and allows educators to deliver an improved learning experience. “Allyant is proud to work with Norton to proactively catalogue accessible textbooks,” said Jeff Jullion, T-Base Senior Account Manager. “When educational institutions access this catalogue, they receive prompt turnaround and savings of up to 70% off traditional accessible format pricing. ” “We produce accessible EPUBs for our books,... --- ### accessible-slick: A new accessible carousel library - Published: 2021-01-26 - Modified: 2023-09-29 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/accessible-slick-a-new-accessible-carousel-library/ - Categories: Accessible Technology - Tags: accessible-slick, website-carousel Here at Allyant, we see a lot of carousels and sliders, and we’ve learned a thing or two about making them accessible. Our expert Accessibility Engineers find them on most websites across all industries and company sizes, from small nonprofits to large e-commerce platforms. But unfortunately, most of them have one thing in common: they are largely inaccessible to people who use screen readers and keyboards. Slick Slider is one of the first and most widely-used code libraries that made carousels and sliders easy for developers to create. Since it is one of the carousel libraries we see most often when helping our clients fix their websites, it made sense to us to try to help resolve some of the issues at the source. Unfortunately, Slick Slider has not been actively maintained in several years, with more than 1,000 open issues and nearly 200 pending pull requests, so contributing improvements directly is not a simple task. To help out developers worldwide who are looking to pass accessibility audits and make their websites better for users with disabilities, we’re officially releasing an accessible fork of Slick Slider with all of our best guidance! This fork includes some great new features, improvements to existing features, and a slew of new customization options, all battle-tested and approved by Allyant’s team of native screen reader users and Accessibility Engineers! Best of all, it is backward compatible with nearly every existing configuration - just replace your hosted files or CDN file references, and you’re good to go! Try it! All of the original live... --- ### T-Base Communications and Accessible360 Announce Partnership - Published: 2020-12-15 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/t-base-communications-and-accessible360-announce-partnership/ - Categories: News - Tags: corporate news T-Base Communications (T-Base), a leader in accessible communications, has acquired rapidly growing digital accessibility provider Accessible360 (A360). Combining T-Base’s highly automated and secure document accessibility capabilities with A360’s web and digital accessibility expertise creates a comprehensive accessibility solution for enterprise customers. T-Base is a portfolio company of growth-oriented private equity firm, Thompson Street Capital Partners. A360 is a leading digital accessibility auditing firm that helps organizations better serve the needs of users with disabilities across websites, mobile apps and other digital assets and remain compliant with international guidelines. A360 leverages proprietary technology and subject matter experts to effectively serve hundreds of customers in diverse end markets across the globe. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mark Lacek, Chairman and Co-Founder of A360 said, “We are so excited because now companies can work with a single entity to ensure their disabled customers can easily and effectively interact with them. I know the A360 staff has found a great home as part of the T-Base family. ” Michele Landis, Co-Founder and CRO, A360 added, “This combination has created the most diverse and capable full-service accessibility provider in the marketplace. I am so enthusiastic about the future. ” Craig Albrecht, Managing Director, TSCP said, “A360’s suite of digital accessibility solutions provides the ideal complement to T-Base’s leadership in document accessibility. We are thrilled to partner with the team at A360 and sustain the strong growth at both companies. ” Bruce Moszcelt, co-CEO of T-Base said, “A360 has... --- ### What is a Tagged PDF? - Published: 2020-09-16 - Modified: 2023-06-12 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-a-tagged-pdf-definition-meaning-explanation/ - Categories: Articles A tagged PDF is a PDF document that contains tags. Tags provide a logical structure that governs how the content of the PDF is presented through assistive technology. A properly tagged PDF, therefore, becomes accessible to everyone. The websites, apps and other digital offerings of most organizations contain PDF documents. The reason behind the ubiquity of PDF documents across most digital platforms is simple - this document format allows users to view, access and share information irrespective of which device or environment they access it on. In simple words, a PDF document retains its content and attributes regardless of the environment it’s viewed/accessed on. This format is fully portable, so to speak, hence the name “Portable” Document Format - this is where the beauty of the PDF lies. This is one of the primary reasons why organizations, both government and private, disseminate information to the general public through PDF documents. But what about people with vision impairment? Since they cannot view the information presented in a PDF document as sighted people do, they rely on the “accessibility” of the PDF document. In other words, if a PDF document is to be read, used or accessed by everyone, including people with disabilities, then it has to be accessible to everyone. Read more: What is an Accessible PDF? How is it different from an inaccessible PDF? This is where the idea of a tagged PDF steps in. Tagged PDF definition: What’s a tagged PDF? Simply put, a tagged PDF is a PDF... --- ### How to Tag Footnotes and Endnotes in PDF - Published: 2020-08-26 - Modified: 2024-07-15 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/how-to-tag-footnotes-and-endnotes-in-pdf/ - Categories: Articles - Tags: pdf accessibility, tag order, tagging documents, tagging lists A question that often comes up in our PDF remediation classes is, “how do you tag footnotes or endnotes? ” This article provides guidance on tagging and offers suggestions and options to consider when determining the tags’ reading order in the Tags tree. Please note: The guidance and suggestions offered in this article are for version 1 of the PDF standard (ISO 32000) and version 1 of PDF/UA. These guidelines will change when version 2 of those standards is fully released, implemented and supported. We use “number” when discussing superscript characters, but you can use other characters like letters or symbols. Likewise, the main body of the document can be a paragraph, list or table, though we will primarily use paragraph in this article. There are two separate components to tagging footnotes or endnotes. The first part is the superscript number in the main body of the document. For footnotes, the second part is the note itself, which appears at the bottom of the page. Endnotes show up at the end of the document. Part 1 – The Reference Tag In each instance of a footnote or endnote, the superscript number is placed within a Reference tag. The screenshot below shows a Reference tag in the Tags tree with the number 2 inside it. The superscript number 2 is highlighted at the end of a paragraph in the physical view. Notice that the Reference tag is in the Paragraph tag with the rest of the paragraph’s text. Part 2 –... --- ### T-Base Communications partners with OpenText to deliver high volume accessible PDF service - Published: 2020-08-11 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/t-base-communications-partners-with-opentext-to-deliver-high-volume-accessible-pdf-service/ - Categories: News - Tags: corporate news Today T-Base Communications, the industry leader in accessible communications, announced they have partnered with OpenText, a global leader in information management software, to bring a new level of customer support and subject matter expertise for high volume accessible PDF customers. The partnership brings together T-Base’s long-standing expertise in document accessibility with OpenText’s market leading high volume accessible PDF software. Accessible PDFs (“aPDFs”) are fully tagged electronic documents that bring accessibility benefits to a range of different consumers. As governments and the business community increasingly recognize the value of providing more inclusive communication formats, the demand for aPDFs is growing. OpenText has the market leading high volume aPDF solution, helping organizations capture and transform high volume print streams into accessible PDFs. “OpenText delivers industry leading document output solutions that can process, extract, transform, repurpose and personalize high volumes of data and documents,” said Stephen Ludlow, OpenText’s SVP. “Together, OpenText and T-Base are empowering customers with exceptional services to support accessibility needs. ” “All of our large enterprise customers have sophisticated digital communication strategies. Ensuring these communications can be seamlessly accessed in a range of accessible formats is what our customers count on T-Base for” says Bruce Moszcelt, T-Base’s Co-CEO. “Adding the OpenText high volume aPDF capability will allow our customers to deliver an even better accessible experience to their end consumers. As the leading document accessibility provider in North America, we look forward to improved accessibility experiences for consumers through this partnership. ” About T-Base Communications T-Base supports customers in delivering... --- ### Google is Releasing a Powerful Accessibility Feature for All Chrome Users - Published: 2020-07-29 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/google-chrome-new-accessibility-feature-launched-commonlook-expertise/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance, News Two years ago, Google reached out to CommonLook because of our expertise in PDF accessibility. At the time, we recognized the potential impact on PDF accessibility due to the massive number of Chrome users around the world. Monir ElRayes, President and CEO, CommonLook. Google knows that online content publishers are required to have their PDFs accessible and compliant to standards. Unfortunately, most organizations do not support directly generating a tagged PDF. Google used CommonLook’s PDF Validator and consulted with CommonLook to ensure their PDF accessibility plan was going to provide the biggest impact. By building this into Chrome, we’re hoping some organizations that already use HTML as part of their document workflow might be able to take advantage of this new functionality and generate compliant PDFs more easily. Dominic Mazzoni, Technical Lead, Chrome Accessibility. After significant progress, Chrome is rolling out this feature to all users every time they generate a PDF from Chrome. “We are pleased to see Google leading on social justice issues like this. Information technology is the new frontier of equality. By adding accessibility features to the Chrome browser they are improving the experience of users with disabilities”, said Douglas Towne, the Chair and CEO of Access Ready, a cross-disability advocacy organization. “Tagged PDFs are a requirement for accessible documents and this new capability should help ensure access to a greater audience across e-commerce, work, school and in the home. ” With this being the 30th anniversary of the ADA this month, we cannot think of... --- ### Accessibility Overlay Tools May Seem Like A “Quick Fix” For Your Problem – but read further… - Published: 2020-07-03 - Modified: 2023-09-30 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/accessibility-overlay-tools-may-seem-like-a-quick-fix-for-your-problem-but-read-further/ - Categories: Compliance - Tags: overlay tools, WCAG compliance What Is An Overlay Tool? Accessibility overlays, toolbars, and plugins are third-party widgets that attempt to automatically improve the accessibility of websites they are added to. They may provide additional functionality such as text resizing, element highlighting, and color scheme adjustments through a custom “popup” interface, all aimed at making your website easier to use. But most of the functionality does not move the needle too far if you’re attempting to conform to either WCAG 2. 0 or 2. 1 requirements. As it turns out, nearly all of the functionality provided by these tools has no impact on your level of WCAG conformance whatsoever. Furthermore, these overlays provide little or no additional legal protection for your website. In fact, in recent lawsuit filings, screenshots of these tools are being used to build the claim against websites that are not also seeking a holistic approach to ADA compliance. It is also a common belief that these tools may increase your security risks, and many companies’ security policies prohibit the installation of widgets like these. Separate Experiences for Groups of Users... is that advised? Overlay tools are activated by the user. When activated, the page is changed in ways you may not even realize or understand if you are not a native user of assistive technology tools. Worse, the overlay provides a sub-par experience for users damaging your brand in the meantime. Furthermore, this separate and subpar experience likely does not decrease your risk for some type of legal action. Create Great... --- ### What is PDF Metadata: Everything You Need to Know - Published: 2020-05-13 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/pdf-metadata-definition-view-edit-change-remove-importance/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance, Education - Tags: CommonLook PDF, document accessibility, pdf accessibility, pdf metadata PDF metadata consists of information about the PDF document, which includes title of the PDF document, author, subject, keywords and copyright information. This information falls under searchable fields of a PDF document, which means that they can be accessed by search utilities. A typical office computer contains dozens of documents and files which are accessed by its users from time to time. These documents have to be organized and stored in a way that they are easily retrievable. An ill-organized collection of documents, one that contains hundreds of digital documents, can become a nightmare to navigate through. The problem is exacerbated for vision-impaired users, as they rely solely on assistive technology (such as screen readers) to navigate and access documents on a computer. This is where metadata comes into play. What is PDF metadata? In simple words, PDF metadata is data about a PDF document. It provides additional information about a PDF document, including but not limited to, file name of the document, its title, date of creation, author, title, copyright information and what application was used to create the file. PDF metadata refers to the properties of a PDF document that identify what that PDF is all about. What are the components of metadata? A few attributes of a PDF document (or any digital document, for that matter) make up its metadata. Some of them are: title, author, subject, keywords and language. You can read an in-depth explanation of these metadata components in this article: Components of PDF Metadata... --- ### What Is An Accessible PDF? - Published: 2020-04-01 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/what-is-an-accessible-pdf-example-definition-meaning/ - Categories: Compliance A PDF document is considered truly accessible if it can be used/accessed by all users, including people with disabilities. For a PDF to be considered accessible, it should be compliant to accessibility standards, including WCAG 2. 0, WCAG 2. 1, Section 508 and PDF/UA. While it is technically possible for a PDF to be accessible and not meet the accessibility standards, only the most basic of documents would apply. The standards were developed to ensure that documents work well with screen readers and other assistive technology. The Portable Document Format, abbreviated as PDF, is the native file format of the Adobe Acrobat family of products. The beauty of this format lies in the fact that it allows users to view and share electronic documents conveniently and reliably (i. e. , without loss of any information), completely independent of the digital ecosystem where those documents were created. Why is the PDF format so Popular for Digital Documents? The primary reason for the popularity of the PDF format is that it allows users to view, access and share information via a digital document that retains its attributes (like content, structure, formatting, etc. ), irrespective of which device or environment you use to view it on. To understand this better, consider this example: have you ever created a Word document in the 2007 version of Microsoft Word and then shared it with a friend who viewed it in the 2013 version of Microsoft Word? When the same document is opened in a different,... --- ### Closed Captioning Vs. Audio Descriptions - Published: 2020-03-04 - Modified: 2023-09-29 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/closed-captioning-vs-audio-descriptions/ - Categories: Compliance When creating videos, sometimes the most challenging thing is figuring out how to make them accessible to all audiences. To make accessible videos, one may have to include closed captioning and audio descriptions, depending on the video content. Closed captioning has been around for many years. It is included in most programming and consists of a subtitle track that contains the text of the dialogue (and who is speaking it) and indications of other non-speech sounds that are happening while a show is playing. Audio descriptions are a newer technology that can supplement closed captioning. Audio descriptions provide narration tracks within the audio stream, describing what is going on visually on the screen. Below is a table outlining a few key differences between these technologies: Captions Audio descriptions Who They Serve People who are deaf/hard of hearing People who are blind/low vision How They Are Incorporated Into the visual stream of the video Into the audio stream What They Convey Spoken dialogue, who is talking, and non-speech sounds What is happening on-screen How They Are Created Captioner adds subtitle file, including sounds heard in the audio track Add an audio track on top of the original soundtrack to describe what’s seen visually --- ### What’s the Difference Between PDF and Accessible PDF? - Published: 2019-11-20 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/difference-between-pdf-and-accessible-pdf/ - Categories: Articles An accessible PDF is a PDF document that can be read and accessed by people with disabilities, primarily for the vision-impaired that may use assistive technology to read the file through text-to-speech or a Braille printout. A PDF document is considered accessible only if it meets a set of accessibility guidelines. In October 2019, the US Supreme Court made a landmark decision. The court denied a petition from Domino’s – a pizza conglomerate – to hear whether their website is required to be accessible to people with disabilities. This ruling is considered a massive win for disability advocates as it sends out a clear message – if your documents and websites are not accessible, then you run the risk of getting sued. PDF: A Brief Overview PDF or Portable Document Format is one of the most commonly used formats for documents across the globe. Adobe Systems invented the PDF format in the 1990s. The ability to contain text, links, tables and graphics in a single, self-contained and independent file without needing to rely on a hardware or software platform rocked the industry. It is no wonder that PDF quickly became the standard for digital documents. PDFs continued to advance by including modern features such as encryption, digital signatures, rich media and annotations. In 2008, it was turned over by Adobe to the International Organization for Standards (ISO) as ISO-32000:1:2008 as an open standard, through a patent license to the ISO. Today PDF continues to be the most dominant document format... --- ### T-Base Communications Partners with Pearson to Offer Braille and Large Print Versions of Textbooks - Published: 2019-10-30 - Modified: 2023-06-08 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/t-base-communications-partners-with-pearson-to-offer-braille-and-large-print-versions-of-textbooks/ - Categories: News - Tags: corporate news This innovative partnership benefits students who are blind or have low vision, to ensure that they have more timely access to their course materials, as required by law T-Base Communications, North America’s leading provider of textbooks in accessible formats, and Pearson, the world’s learning company, have partnered to offer braille and reflowed large print versions of Pearson textbooks for top-selling titles, with a view to revolutionizing how schools and students acquire accessible learning materials. Students who are blind or have low vision often prefer to learn from a braille or large print version of their textbook. However, procuring these versions has traditionally been a time-intensive and costly process that has disadvantaged students who are forced to endure long waits for materials in their preferred format. T-Base can now deliver Pearson’s top-selling titles in braille and reflowed large print significantly faster—within 10 business days—and at a substantial cost reduction to educators. Procuring accessible textbooks through this new, more efficient process allows students to stay on pace with their academic calendar and allows educators to deliver a much-improved learning experience. “T-Base is proud to partner with Pearson to proactively catalog braille and reflowed large print textbooks,” said Jeff Jullion, T-Base Senior Account Manager. “When educational institutions access this catalog, they receive prompt turnaround and savings of up to 70% off traditional accessible format pricing. ” “At Pearson, we understand how important accessibility is to learners,” said Jonathan Thurston, Pearson’s Head of Accessibility. “Our partnership with T-Base is another step Pearson is taking... --- ### WCAG 2.1 and PDF Accessibility - Published: 2019-06-25 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/wcag-2-1-and-pdf-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles, Compliance In June 2018 the WCAG 2. 1 standard was released. It wasn’t intended to replace WCAG 2. 0and WCAG 2. 0 is still valid. The primary focus for WCAG 2. 1 was to improve web accessibility for people with disabilities who fit into one (or more) of the following three groups: Users with cognitive or learning disabilities Users with low vision Users with disabilities on mobile devices WCAG 2. 1 builds on WCAG 2. 0 and continues to improve the lives of the disabled. An important thing to note about the two versions is that if a webpage (or, by extension, a PDF) passes at the WCAG 2. 1AA level, then it will also pass WCAG 2. 0AA. As we take a look at what’s new in WCAG 2. 1 as it relates to PDFs, we will indicate the success criteria (S. C. ) and the conformance level – A, AA, or AAA. Document Creation Success Criterion 1. 4. 11 – Non-Text Contrast (AA): Similar to the contrast checkpoint in 2. 0, this checkpoint specifies that graphical elements need to have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 against adjacent colors unless the “particular presentation of graphics is essential to the information being conveyed”. If you are not using a good contrast checker already, now you have an even better reason to find one. I’m particularly fond of the Colour Contrast Analyser. Success Criterion 1. 4. 12 – Text Spacing (AA): In this S. C. , recommendations are made for... --- ### Tagging Lists in a PDF - Published: 2019-05-19 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/tagging-lists-in-a-pdf/ - Categories: Articles Tagging lists properly in a PDF is important. And sometimes it’s difficult. For example, when a screen reader finds an (list) tag in the Tags tree, it will inform the user of the existence of a list, how many items are in the list and when the list has ended. It is much easier to skip list tags and just leave the content in paragraph tags, but this is not only semantically inaccurate, it also negatively impacts the end-user’s experience. Tagging Lists in Acrobat Automatic tagging in Acrobat generally does a decent job of recognizing lists in PDFs, putting the content into tags, inserting the (List Item) tags and creating the (List Body) tags, too. Sometimes—but not always—Acrobat will even place the bullets (or numbers, letters, etc. , in ordered lists) into (Label) tags. However, touch-up work may still need to be done. It can be challenging to manually tag PDsF using Acrobat’s Reading Order tool. In fact, when I demo CommonLook PDF and reach the point where I have to tag the list, I often ask people how long it would take them in Acrobat. I hear everything from exasperated sighs to “I wouldn’t,” “I’d make someone else do it,” or “Too long. ” Part of the problem is that there are no buttons for List, List Item, Label or LBody in the Reading Order tool. So, you have to hand tag the individual parts, probably in (Paragraph) tags and then convert the tags to or as needed and... --- ### Why PDF is a Superior Format over MS Word for Accessibility - Published: 2019-04-17 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/why-pdf-is-a-superior-format-over-ms-word-for-accessibility/ - Categories: Articles Our clients often ask why PDF is the recommended format for accessible content. Many times, clients will have files in their native formats from Microsoft Office and the question comes up as to why not keep these files in Word. In fact, in some countries, such as Australia, have adopted a policy of recommending Word over PDF regarding accessibility. Some groups will advocate for having both PDF and Word versions of the same document for the sake of accessibility. So, why the confusion? Accessibility for Mobile Devices The primary reason for the argument relates to mobile devices. PDF contains a well-documented tagging structure that ensures that when a PDF is properly tagged, it will be accessible to people with disabilities, such as the blind or visually impaired. The problem is that currently neither iOS’s VoiceOver or Android’s TalkBack work with properly tagged PDF documents. The issue needs to be fixed by the mobile phone manufacturers as this limitation has existed for many years now and continues to be a problem for mobile users. While PDF has the ability to be completely accessible due to the tag structure, the lack of support on mobile applications is the reason for the recommendations to use Microsoft Word. The Differences between Word and PDF Is Microsoft Word a superior format for accessibly? First, let’s discuss the difference between how PDF addresses accessibility and how it is handled in Word. Unlike Word, accessibility information in PDF is added in a separate layer from the content.... --- ### What’s In WCAG 2.1? - Published: 2018-06-11 - Modified: 2023-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/whats-in-wcag-2-1/ - Categories: Compliance - Tags: wcag, wcag 2.1 The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has published the latest update to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines – WCAG 2. 1. Building off of the existing guidelines and principles found in WCAG 2. 0, WCAG 2. 1 adds additional guidance. These new guidelines improve web content accessibility. In addition, there is a specific emphasis on improving accessibility for people with cognitive or learning disabilities, low vision, and disabilities interacting with content on mobile devices. In this blog post, we’ll provide a brief overview of WCAG 2. 1 and point out some crucial facts about the changes. WCAG 2. 0 vs. WCAG 2. 1 WCAG 2. 1 builds upon WCAG 2. 0, a significant revision of the original WCAG 1. 0 guidelines. WCAG 2. 1 extends WCAG 2. 0, adding 17 additional success criteria across the same four principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust (POUR). WCAG 2. 1 does not modify the existing WCAG 2. 0 success criteria; it adds additional success criteria to support modern web technologies and accommodate a broader range of disabilities. The practical result is that content that conforms to WCAG 2. 0 will continue to conform to all of the same success criteria in WCAG 2. 1. Therefore, content that meets WCAG 2. 0 needs only to be checked against the 17 new success criteria to determine if it conforms to WCAG 2. 1 as well. To ensure backward compatibility with WCAG 2. 0 and help prevent confusion, WCAG 2. 1 appends all-new success criteria to each guideline. The... --- ### Use Aria Label Screen Reader Text - Published: 2017-05-10 - Modified: 2023-09-29 - URL: https://allyant.com/blog/use-aria-label-screen-reader-text/ - Categories: Coding Every now and then a developer needs to include special content that should be seen by screen reader users, but not by anyone else. But what is the best way to convey this information? In some cases, an aria-label is the way to go, but more often screen reader-only text is best. Here are some instances for each. Hopefully, this helps answer the question: Should I use aria-label or screen reader-only text? The first thing to consider is the content you want to add. If it is essential and/or beneficial for all users, just make it visible to all users. Screen readers will still see it and so will everyone else, no need to reinvent the wheel. That being said, screen reader, only text is great for providing more context to a link whose purpose may be obvious visually due to its location on screen but could be confusing without visual cues (for instance: “Add to Cart” next to a product on a retail site). Depending on what other contextual clues are nearby, A screen reader user might ask: “Add what to cart? ” Add to Cart With some screen reader-only text, you could provide more information that may not be apparent to screen reader users: Add to Cart super cool product you were considering You can then apply the following CSS rules: A quick note about the “clip” CSS rule: clip is deprecated in CSS3 and eventually won’t be supported. Clip-path is replacing clip but until it is widely... --- --- ## Events ### Accessing Higher Ground 2025 - Published: 2025-05-23 - Modified: 2025-05-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/accessing-higher-ground-2025/ - Event Categories: Tradeshow Join Allyant at Accessing Higher Ground, AHEAD's accessible media, web and technology conference in Denver, Colorado, November 17-21, 2025. --- ### M-Enabling Summit 2025 - Published: 2025-05-23 - Modified: 2025-05-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/m-enabling-summit-2025/ - Event Categories: Tradeshow Join Allyant at this year's M-Enabling Summit October 6-8 in Washington D. C. Visit our booth and sign up to participate in our speaking sessions and workshops. --- ### Disability:IN 2025 - Published: 2025-05-23 - Modified: 2025-05-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/disabilityin-2025/ - Event Categories: Tradeshow Join Allyant at this year's Disability:IN, the global corporate disability inclusion event taking place July 14-17 in Orlando, Florida --- ### AHEAD 2025 - Published: 2025-05-23 - Modified: 2025-05-23 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/ahead-2025/ - Event Categories: Tradeshow Allyant will be attending the 48th Annual Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) Conference in Denver, Colorado from July 14-18, 2025. Come visit us at booth 214! --- ### Digital Document Compliance for Texas Government: True Up, Catch Up, and Keep up with Title II and WCAG - Published: 2025-03-07 - Modified: 2025-03-07 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/digital-document-compliance-for-texas-government-true-up-catch-up-and-keep-up-with-title-ii-and-wcag-2/ - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, alternative format, assistive technology - Event Categories: Webinar Ensuring document accessibility compliance is crucial for Texas government agencies; however, navigating the requirements can be challenging. In partnership with the Texas Department of Information Resources, Allyant is hosting a webinar to assist Texas government leaders in understanding the importance of document accessibility, meeting compliance standards, and implementing best practices for long-term success. Join accessibility experts Aaron Page and Amy Walldorf as they discuss key compliance requirements, explore effective strategies for identifying and addressing accessibility gaps, and share lesser-known tips to help your agency stay aligned with evolving compliance standards. Topics include: True Up: Understand the scope of compliance requirements, learn the best steps for identifying which content needs to be corrected, and determine how to prioritize accessibility with low-effort / high-impact actions. Catch Up: Identify the backlog of content that’s out of compliance, understand various market solutions that can help fix them, and evaluate whether your best approach is do-it-yourself, outsource, or a hybrid of both. Keep Up: Learn how you will incorporate accessibility as you go to maintain compliance, and you’ll understand the tools, time, and budgetary resources needed. Lesser-Known Tips and Tricks: Gain practical insights to evaluate vendors, scope your project, educate your teams, and get resourcing support from leadership. Ensure your agency meets compliance requirements and improves accessibility for all. Register today. Register for the Webinar --- ### Navigating the European Accessibility Act - Published: 2025-02-18 - Modified: 2025-02-18 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/navigating-the-european-accessibility-act-2/ - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, alternative format, assistive technology - Event Categories: Webinar In this webinar, Allyant’s accessibility experts will help to empower digital agencies to confidently navigate EAA requirements and deliver accessible, regulation-compliant solutions to their clients. Attendees will leave with the knowledge and tools needed to stay ahead in the competitive European market. A Compliance Blueprint for Digital Agencies As the European Accessibility Act (EAA) compliance deadline approaches, digital agencies across the EU face increasing pressure to ensure that the websites and digital content their clients maintain and create meet accessibility standards. Many agencies are only nominally aware of these requirements and may lack a clear understanding of compliance. Without the proper guidance, they risk falling short of regulatory expectations, which could lead to reputational damage, client dissatisfaction, and potential consequences for their customers. In this webinar, Allyant's accessibility experts will help to empower digital agencies to confidently navigate EAA requirements and deliver accessible, regulation-compliant solutions to their clients. Attendees will leave with the knowledge and tools needed to stay ahead in the competitive European market. Topics will include: Understanding EAA Requirements: A detailed breakdown of the specific accessibility requirements for websites and web content under the EAA. How to discuss the requirements with your customers and position the work required by your agency to meet EAA requirements. Actionable Steps to Compliance: Insights into the critical steps your agency can take to ensure the digital properties you develop meet EAA standards. Live Demonstration: A powerful screen reader demonstration showcasing the difference between compliant and non-compliant websites, providing an impactful experiential understanding of accessibility. An overview of a powerful Accessibility Scanning tool that Allyant Partner Agencies receive at no cost as a component of their partnership. Becoming a Trusted Partner: How to position your agency as a leader in accessibility by confidently guiding your... --- ### Intro to CommonLook PDF - Simplified Editor - Published: 2025-02-17 - Modified: 2025-05-28 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/introduction-to-commonlook-online-v2-2/2025-02-26/ - Event Categories: Training This 90-minute, live, webinar-based training will provide a foundation for new users of the CommonLook PDF Simplified Editor to feel comfortable and successful using the software. Concepts and skills taught will include: Headings and paragraphs, Images, Lists, Tables, Links, and other document elements, Verifying the reading order. Please register at the following link: https://us06web. zoom. us/webinar/register/WN_Ey0yBCd-SFKuPKbS9tv_9Q --- ### CSUN 2025 - Published: 2025-01-24 - Modified: 2025-01-24 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/csun-2025-2/ - Tags: CSUN 2025 - Event Categories: Tradeshow 40th Annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference Booth #703 The annual CSUN Conference has been the foremost forum on technology for all persons with disabilities. The conference is sponsored by California State University, Northridge's Center on Disabilities. CSUN provides a global platform for researchers, practitioners, educators, exhibitors, and others. It’s the perfect place to share the latest on assistive technology and inclusion. The conference offers Pre-Conference Workshops, Keynote Address, Featured Presentations, General Sessions, Sponsor Showcase Suites, and the Exhibit Hall. There is also a program for building community and networking opportunities. Allyant Sessions March 14, 2025 - 9:20am PT - Document Accessibility for Legal and Regulatory Compliance: Exploring Frameworks, Compliance Strategies, and Continuous Monitoring March 12, 2025 - 2:20pm PT - Ensuring Accessibility in Procurement: Reviewing VPATs, Vendor Selection, & Compliance Verification March 13, 2025 - 10:20am PT - Integrating Accessibility Management in Enterprise CMS: Streamlining Content Creation, Version Control, and Compliance March 12, 2025 - 4:20pm PT - Ensuring Accessibility for STEM Content: Tools, Technologies, & Inclusive Courseware Design March 12, 2025 - 11:20am PT - Implementing a Document Accessibility Program: Step-by-Step Strategies for Remediation, Compliance, and Procurement --- ### European Accessibility Act Compliance for Digital Documents - Published: 2025-01-22 - Modified: 2025-02-04 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/european-accessibility-act-compliance-for-digital-documents/ - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, alternative format, assistive technology - Event Categories: Webinar Don’t let document accessibility slip through the cracks. Equip your team with the knowledge and tools to address EAA requirements confidently. Reserve your spot today! As organizations across the EU focus on the digital and web components of the European Accessibility Act (EAA), many overlook the critical accessibility requirements for digital documents such as PDFs, statements, and other content. This oversight can lead to non-compliance, missed opportunities, and increased risk as deadlines approach. In this webinar, Allyant’s accessibility experts will provide a clear and practical guide to understanding and meeting the EAA’s requirements for digital documents. Attendees will gain actionable insights into making existing inaccessible documents accessible as well as creating accessible content efficiently and ensuring ongoing compliance. Topics will include: EAA Digital Document Standards: A comprehensive overview of accessibility requirements for PDFs, statements, and other digital documents under the EAA. Accessible Pathways: Simple and efficient strategies to achieve compliance using your organization’s existing tools and services. Framework for Success: Leveraging the “True Up, Catch Up, Keep Up” methodology to assess, address, and maintain accessibility. Don’t let document accessibility slip through the cracks. Equip your team with the knowledge and tools to address EAA requirements confidently. Reserve your spot today! Register Today! --- ### Accessible Statements: Navigating Compliance & Inclusion for Financial, Healthcare, & Telecom Sectors - Published: 2024-11-26 - Modified: 2024-11-26 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/accessible-statements-navigating-compliance-inclusion-for-financial-healthcare-telecom-sectors-2/ - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, alternative format, assistive technology - Event Categories: Webinar Learn how Allyant's print solutions can help deliver statements into formats like Braille and reflowed large print, e-text, audio, and accessible PDFs, ensuring they meet customer needs while complying with regulatory standards. In sectors like finance, healthcare, insurance, government, and telecom, providing accessible statements is not just a nice-to-have—it’s a necessity. These documents, including phone and cable bills, credit card statements, and explanations of benefits, must be available in formats that individuals with visual impairments can easily access, such as Braille, reflowed large print, e-text, audio, and accessible PDFs. Failing to offer accessible statements can result in exclusion and, more critically, non-compliance with key regulations like the ADA, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, the AODA, and the Canadian Human Rights Act. These challenges pose significant risks, including potential legal consequences, to organizations that do not meet accessibility requirements. Join our accessibility experts as they demonstrate how to efficiently produce, manage, and deliver accessible documents using advanced technologies and best practices. Learn how Allyant's print solutions can help deliver statements into formats like Braille and reflowed large print, e-text, audio, and accessible PDFs, ensuring they meet customer needs while complying with regulatory standards. In this webinar, attendees will learn: The critical considerations for implementing a robust and efficient document accessibility strategy that supports high-volume output and regulatory compliance. How to implement a program enabling accessible statements in large-batch production for compliance and customer inclusivity. The best practices for securely integrating data and automating the delivery of statements in alternative formats like Braille, large print, and accessible PDFs. Register Today! --- ### Ensuring Timely and Accessible Learning Materials in Education - Published: 2024-10-01 - Modified: 2024-10-01 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/ensuring-timely-and-accessible-learning-materials-in-education-2/ - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing, alternative format, assistive technology - Event Categories: Webinar Discover the speed-quality trade-offs in education and gain actionable insights for creating an inclusive learning environment. A must-attend for educators and administrators! Educators are committed to providing their students with the best learning resources but often struggle with balancing the quality and accessibility of instructional materials. In educational institutions, the challenge of offering timely access to high-quality resources can lead to trade-offs that impact students' learning experiences and future success. This pivotal session will uncover the reasons behind these speed-quality trade-offs and their real-world impact on students. It will also present innovative strategies to ensure readily available, accessible materials, empowering attendees with actionable insights and best practices for creating an inclusive learning environment that supports every student's success. This webinar is not just essential but transformative for educators, administrators, and stakeholders dedicated to optimizing the educational experience. In this webinar, attendees will learn: How to address the unique accessibility needs of educators, administrators, and Disability Office personnel in creating inclusive learning environments. How can streamlined processes be implemented to convert documents quickly and promptly deliver them to students in need? Effective ways to combine automation and human input to efficiently and accurately transcription educational materials. How to transcribe documents into various accessible formats, such as PDFs, reflowed large print, braille, and e-text, to accommodate diverse learning needs. Register Today! --- ### Unlocking the Impact of WCAG 2.2 on Electronic Documents - Published: 2024-08-29 - Modified: 2024-08-29 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/unlocking-the-impact-of-wcag-2-2-on-electronic-documents-2/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Webinar The session will provide practical compliance strategies, illustrated by real-world examples of successful implementations and common pitfalls to avoid. Whether you’re an experienced accessibility professional or just starting, this session offers valuable insights for anyone dedicated to creating a more inclusive digital environment. In the evolving web accessibility landscape, WCAG 2. 2 introduces significant updates that build on the foundation of WCAG 2. 1. This version focuses on improving accessibility for individuals with cognitive or learning disabilities, low vision, and mobile devices. Importantly, WCAG 2. 2 also introduces new criteria that directly impact the accessibility of electronic documents, shaping how digital content is created and made accessible. This webinar will explore these new guidelines, emphasizing the critical differences from WCAG 2. 1 and their implications for electronic documents. Attendees will delve into the intricacies of WCAG 2. 2's Success Criteria, explicitly focusing on their application to electronic documents. The session will provide practical compliance strategies, illustrated by real-world examples of successful implementations and common pitfalls to avoid. Whether you’re an experienced accessibility professional or just starting, this session offers valuable insights for anyone dedicated to creating a more inclusive digital environment. Topics covered in this session will include: Understanding Key Differences: This course will help you clearly understand the key distinctions between WCAG 2. 1 and WCAG 2. 2, focusing on how these changes impact digital accessibility. Examining New Success Criteria: Dive into the new Success Criteria introduced in WCAG 2. 2, particularly those that apply to electronic documents, and learn how they affect content creation and accessibility standards. Exploring Real-World Examples: Analyze real-world examples of electronic documents that pass or fail WCAG 2. 2 standards, providing practical insights into common challenges and best practices for ensuring compliance. Register Today! --- ### How to Fully Automate Accessibility in High-Volume Document Processing - Published: 2024-07-10 - Modified: 2024-07-10 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/how-to-fully-automate-accessibility-in-high-volume-document-processing-2/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Webinar Join us to understand how you can leverage cutting-edge automation to uphold your organization's commitment to accessibility, ensuring all your customers, regardless of their accessibility needs, can effectively engage with crucial documents. Leveraging Leading-Edge, Highly Secure Automation to Ensure Inclusivity and Compliance in Document Workflows Accessibility is paramount, not just for web interfaces but also for the vast array of documents distributed by organizations. While many have prioritized website accessibility, a significant gap remains concerning high-volume, client-specific documents like invoices, policies, statements, and financial portfolios. These vital documents, often generated by legacy systems, present a unique challenge: manual remediation is impractical due to their volume and the urgency of delivery. So, how can organizations ensure these essential documents, some containing sensitive personal information, are universally accessible? More crucially, how can this be achieved without upending existing workflows? The answer lies in leveraging automation advancements. This webinar explores the untapped potential of these technologies in enhancing accessibility for high-volume document processes. We'll emphasize solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing systems, enabling "post-processing" document modifications. This ensures clients receive documents in formats that cater to their accessibility needs, such as tagged accessible PDFs, braille, or large reflowed print. Join us to understand how you can leverage cutting-edge automation to uphold your organization's commitment to accessibility, ensuring all your customers, regardless of their accessibility needs, can effectively engage with crucial documents. Let's revolutionize your document delivery process by merging efficiency with inclusivity. In this webinar, attendees will learn how to: Define high-volume systems and highlight their inherent risks related to accessibility compliance. Enumerate the variety of accessible formats frequently demanded for high-volume documents. Demonstrate how automation can be strategically deployed to infuse accessibility into high-volume... --- ### Accessing Higher Ground - Published: 2024-06-21 - Modified: 2024-06-21 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/accessing-higher-ground-2/ - Event Categories: Tradeshow Implementing an effective and scalable Accessibility Procurement Program Friday, November 15 at 10:15 am in Penrose 1 Speaker(s) Aaron Page, Director of Accessibility, Allyant Marc Lind , Account Executive – Digital Accessibility, Allyant When an educational institution considers the purchasing of new OR renewal of existing software, platforms, or other technological solutions, the question of whether they can be used by all students and staff, regardless of disability, should be central to the decision-making process. By moving this upstream in the procurement process, higher education institutions can ensure they understand and consider the implied risk of procuring or renewing a software that might not be accessible, while also building in specific requirements for that vendor to roadmap accessibility with clear milestones if an inaccessible product is procured. As a live-user accessibility testing firm, having assessed thousands of websites and applications, Allyant understands the common issues and barriers generally faced for individuals with disabilities navigation software and the challenges with procuring accessibility technology. Additionally, Allyant’s Director of Accessibility Aaron Page has direct higher education procurement insights through working at the University of Montana as an Accessibility Specialist for over 7 years. Building off this direct experience and expert knowledge, we have built a process of best practices for higher education institutions to consider and build into their current process to drive the procurement of accessible technology and a free manual testing service that was built specifically for higher education institutions to ensure accessibility is pivotal to the procurement process. This service... --- ### M-Enabling - U.S. Federal Government Executive Briefing - Published: 2024-06-21 - Modified: 2024-06-21 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/m-enabling-u-s-federal-government-executive-briefing-2/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Briefing Engage with colleagues and trendsetters in digital accessibility and inclusion, gain insights on the latest trends, and be part of the global discussion on building an inclusive digital world for persons with disabilities! With the theme “Transformations, Disruptions, and Opportunities for Digital Accessibility,” the three-day 2024 in-person Summit will feature a hybrid track, general and break-out sessions, interactive roundtables and workshops, panel discussions, open dialog with innovators and disrupters in digital inclusion, accessibility chat interviews, and a cognitive sprint forum. --- ### Xplor International 2024 - Published: 2024-06-21 - Modified: 2024-06-21 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/xplor-international-2024-2/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Tradeshow The two-and-a-half-day event will attract a cross section of end users, analysts, consultants, industry experts, and vendors dedicated to the education, evolution, and success of the Customer Communications Management (CCM) industry. Event features include: Engaging Keynote Rapid-Fire General Session Exhibitor Introductions Simple Educational Breakout Session Format (Business and Technical Tracks) Relevant and Interactive Panels Birds of a Feather Discussions Leading-Edge Exhibitors and the Latest Solutions Daily Networking (including lunches and evening events) Industry Awards --- ### 2024 AHEAD Equity and Excellence Conference - Published: 2024-06-21 - Modified: 2024-06-21 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/2024-ahead-equity-and-excellence-conference-2/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Tradeshow AHEAD is excited to announce its 47th annual conference, Equity & Excellence: Access in Higher Education, as an in-person professional development and networking event. Presenters and participants from diverse fields, including education, technology, law, scholarship, and government, will gather in Baltimore in July, and we hope to see you there! --- ### Disability:IN - Published: 2024-06-21 - Modified: 2024-06-21 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/disabilityin-2024-2/ - Tags: accessibility, disability - Event Categories: Tradeshow The 2024 Disability:IN Annual Conference and Expo is the preeminent national event that taps into the vast economic potential of the full inclusion of people with disabilities. This conference brings corporate, government, and disability-owned businesses, and Disability:IN Affiliates together to create workplaces, supply chains, and marketplaces where people with disabilities are fully included as professionals, customers, and entrepreneurs. --- ### CommonLook Training - Office Hours - Published: 2024-06-07 - Modified: 2024-06-07 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/commonlook-weekly-workshop-office-hours-2-2-2/2024-06-14/ - Event Categories: Training About this class: Join us for a live, “office-hours,” workshop where an Allyant Trainer will be available to answer your pressing remediation, document accessibility, and CommonLook software questions! Attendees can feel free to bring their own documents and relevant questions or just watch and learn. Please register at the following link: https://us06web. zoom. us/meeting/register/tZEuce2hpjwsE9YjajNh_eBX9elf0x1QIKJS --- ### Understanding the HHS Rule on Accessibility - Published: 2024-06-06 - Modified: 2024-06-06 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/understanding-the-hhs-rule-on-accessibility/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Webinar In a significant move to address longstanding challenges faced by individuals with disabilities, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced a landmark rule to advance equity and strengthen protections under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Effective May 1, 2024, this new rule represents a critical step forward in eliminating discrimination, ensuring accessibility across all health and human service programs funded by HHS, and significantly advancing equity and strengthening protections for individuals with disabilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. By setting forth clear standards for digital and communication accessibility, the HHS rule aims to create a more inclusive environment where individuals with disabilities can fully participate and receive equitable treatment. This webinar is essential for health and human services professionals, IT and web development, legal compliance, and advocacy roles. Attendees will leave with a comprehensive understanding of the new HHS rule and actionable insights to ensure their programs and activities are accessible to individuals with disabilities. Join Allyant Accessibility Experts for an in-depth webinar exploring the crucial nuances of the newly finalized rule. Webinar topics will include: Overview of the HHS Final Rule: Learn about the critical elements of the new rule, “Discrimination Based on Disability in Health and Human Service Programs or Activities,” and understand its impact on advancing disability rights. Accessibility Requirements Explained: Learn what accessibility means for all communications, including websites, mobile apps, documents, and print, as defined by the rule. Discover how compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines... --- ### Marketplace Risk - Published: 2024-04-30 - Modified: 2024-04-30 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/marketplace-risk-2/ - Event Categories: Tradeshow Every business has risk. Identifying and mitigating risk determines success vs failure especially for innovative and disruptive marketplaces and digital platforms. Each year the industry convenes at the Marketplace Risk Management Conference - the first and only conference focused on risk management, trust & safety, compliance & regulatory and legal strategy for marketplaces and digital platforms. Speaking Session Digital Inclusion Hinges on Accessibility: ADA, WCAG and Leveraging AI May 16th at 9:50am - 10:30 am --- ### DSF'24 - Published: 2024-04-30 - Modified: 2024-04-30 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/dsf24/ - Event Categories: Tradeshow DSF ’24 Boston will feature 10 dedicated Learning Pods with a focus on Evolution of AI, Charting CCM Maturity, 4th Wave of IDP, Future of Forms, Investing in the Total Experience, Practical Document Management and much more. Speaking Session 108 Practical Approaches for Implementing an Enterprise Accessibility Strategy May 21, 2024 3:10 PM-4:00 PM ET Accessibility regulations are rapidly increasing and impacting many organizational efforts to drive consumer engagement on digital channels. Ensuring all content is compliant, offering alternative print services, such as Braille and reflowed large print, and addressing online presentment of transactional or promotional communications are proving to be a challenge. In this session, we’ll discuss the scope of accessibility, the impact on enterprise organizations, practical approaches for compliance and strategies for moving forward. Learning Objective The scope of accessibility standards. Practical approaches to address accessibility within your enterprise. Best practices and design considerations for future development. --- ### Intro to CommonLook Office - Published: 2024-04-26 - Modified: 2025-05-29 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/test-introduction-to-commonlook-office-in-microsoft-word-free/2024-05-01/ - Event Categories: Training This 90-minute, live, webinar-based training will provide a foundation for new CommonLook Office users to feel comfortable and successful using the software in Microsoft Word. Concepts and Skills taught will include: Word-specific formatting concerns when designing content, Images, Lists, Tables, Links, and other document elements Verifying the reading order of specific page elements, Running a Word document through CommonLook Office and creating an accessible PDF. Please register at the following link: https://us06web. zoom. us/webinar/register/WN_fMbeIWMGSW6AkhBY35FvhA --- ### CommonLook Installation Training - Published: 2024-04-26 - Modified: 2024-07-05 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/commonlook-installation-training/2024-04-17/ - Event Categories: Training Join us for a live, step-by-step guide on installing the CommonLook Software Suite! A Support Specialist will also be available for troubleshooting! Please register at the following link: https://us06web. zoom. us/webinar/register/WN_DNvf8J8LTxq7_eApvEMgBg --- ### Introduction to CommonLook Office in Microsoft PowerPoint (free) - Published: 2024-04-26 - Modified: 2024-10-04 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/introduction-to-commonlook-office-in-microsoft-powerpoint-free/2024-06-05/ - Event Categories: Training This 90-minute, live, webinar-based training will provide a foundation for new CommonLook Office users to feel comfortable and successful using the software in Microsoft PowerPoint. Concepts and Skills taught will include: PowerPoint-specific formatting concerns when designing content, Repeated content such as slide numbers, Images, Lists, Tables, Links, and other document elements Verifying the reading order of individual slides, Running a PowerPoint presentation through CommonLook Office and creating an accessible PDF. Please register at the following link: https://us06web. zoom. us/webinar/register/WN_Ey0yBCd-SFKuPKbS9tv_9Q --- ### Achieve Accessibility Excellence in all your Communications: Digital, Document, and Print - Published: 2024-04-22 - Modified: 2024-04-22 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/achieve-accessibility-excellence-in-all-your-communications-digital-document-and-print/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Webinar Date: May 16, 2024 Time: 1:00 p. m. EST Join us for an illuminating webinar as we celebrate GAAD’s anniversary and delve into accessibility solutions that empower organizations to achieve inclusivity and compliance in all their communications. Digital Accessibility from Pre-Launch to Existing Properties Explore solutions that revolutionize accessibility for all your digital properties, including website content, mobile, e-commerce, IoT products, kiosks, and more. Free software accessibility validation for procurement. Streamlined compliance with VPAT creation. Comprehensive website & digital property auditing. Risk mitigation with litigation support and managed compliance services. Accessible PDF Documents Our CommonLook software suite streamlines accessibility compliance to manage all stages of PDF accessibility. Create, test, verify, remediate, and manage PDFs. Raise your PDF accessibility skills with world-class training. Use our PDF remediation service to fix your accessibility issues quickly. Empower educators by bridging accessibility gaps. Government-Centric Solutions Learn how Allyant addresses the DOJ’s new rule for electronic documents, website content, and mobile apps, serving as a vital resource for public entities seeking to establish effective accessibility programs. Accessible Print and Production– Comprehensive, Inclusive and Secure Print services that encompass secure and compliant accessible statements, educational materials, and more, ensuring inclusivity and accessibility in both learning resources and vital enterprise documents. Discover the wide range of accessible formats we provide for your students with disabilities, including braille, large print, eText, and more. Deliver textbooks & educational materials. Process accessible billing/account statements. Let our experts show you how to transform your accessibility initiatives with seamless digital, document, and... --- ### Guiding State & Local Governments Through the 2024 DOJ Accessibility Regulations - Published: 2024-04-16 - Modified: 2024-04-16 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/guiding-state-local-governments-through-the-2024-doj-accessibility-regulations/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Webinar The recent announcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) has left many state and local government officials grappling with the challenge of achieving accessibility compliance in a short timeframe. The mandates outlined in the DOJ's rule, particularly regarding Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), present a significant hurdle for governmental organizations. Accessibility compliance, especially in the digital sphere, poses intricate challenges that require careful navigation. State and local governments face the daunting task of aligning their services, activities, and programs with the newly established criteria and technical specifications under Title II of the ADA. However, amidst these challenges, Allyant emerges as a beacon of support for state and local governments embarking on their journey toward accessibility compliance. Our expertise and tailored solutions simplify the transition process, making it simple and seamless for governmental organizations. Our Government-Specific Program is designed to support the DOJ's new rule, offering comprehensive guidance and resources to facilitate accessibility improvements across web, mobile, and electronic documents. Join us for a highly informative webinar where attendees will delve into the intricacies of the DOJ's announcement, including compliance timelines, criteria, and actionable insights. Discover how Allyant's specialized program can empower your organization to meet and exceed accessibility standards, ensuring equitable access to essential services for all citizens. In this webinar, attendees will learn: The details of the DOJ's announcement and its implications for state and local governments. Compliance timelines and critical criteria as outlined in the new rule. Actionable strategies for enhancing accessibility across web,... --- ### ProcureEnsure: Simple, Accessible Procurement - Published: 2024-02-06 - Modified: 2024-02-06 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/procureensure-simple-accessible-procurement-2/ - Tags: accessible software, procureensure, software procurement - Event Categories: Webinar Are you a procurement professional struggling to balance efficiency and accessibility while deploying accessible solutions for your organization? You're not alone; accessibility often gets overlooked in procurement. ProcureEnsure is a free service from Allyant designed to enhance procurement processes with guaranteed accessibility. With its expert auditors, you'll receive a free assessment that highlights the strengths and areas for improvement in accessibility, complete with an overview and grade. This solution blends the latest tech advancements with accessibility essentials to help you make informed decisions. Are you struggling to procure accessible software? Allyant can help. With ProcureEnsure, you can make accessibility a priority without sacrificing efficiency. Discover how ProcureEnsure can improve and simplify your procurement approach by signing up for our webinar. In this free webinar, you will: Discuss challenges faced in procuring accessible software. Explore toolkits, strategies, and processes for accessible tech procurement. Discover Allyant's free ProcureEnsure review and how it can integrate into your procurement process. Register now to secure your spot in this free webinar. --- ### CSUN 2024 - Published: 2024-02-05 - Modified: 2024-02-05 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/csun-2024/ - Tags: CSUN 2024 - Event Categories: Tradeshow 39th Annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference Booth #610 & Platinum Suite #3 The annual CSUN Conference has been the foremost forum on technology for all persons with disabilities. The conference is sponsored by California State University, Northridge's Center on Disabilities. CSUN provides a global platform for researchers, practitioners, educators, exhibitors, and others. It’s the perfect place to share the latest on assistive technology and inclusion. The conference offers Pre-Conference Workshops, Keynote Address, Featured Presentations, General Sessions, Sponsor Showcase Suites, and the Exhibit Hall. There is also a program for building community and networking opportunities. Note: All Allyant sessions will be held in Platinum 3 Suite except for the two live streaming sessions in the Broadcast Studio in Platinum 6. Allyant Sessions & Presentations TUESDAY 10:20 a. m. – 11:00 a. m. : Elizabeth Franklin (Navigating the Accessibility of Big Graphics in Documents) 1:20 p. m. – 2:00 p. m. : Paul Rayius (Navigating the Evolution from PDF/UA–1 to PDF/UA–2) 2:20 p. m. – 3:00 p. m. : Ben Ogilvie from Arctouch (Two Paths to Mobile App Accessibility Success) 3:20 p. m. – 4:00 p. m. : Paul Rayius (Unlocking the Impact of WCAG 2. 2 on Electronic Documents) WEDNESDAY 10:20 a. m. – 11:00 a. m. : Jeff Jullion (Deploying an All–Inclusive, Accessible Document Strategy for Education) 11:20 a. m. – 12:00 p. m. : Agostina Demark (Mastering ARIA: Best Practices for Designers & Devs) 2:20 p. m. – 3:00 p. m. : Aaron Page, Lara Lesar (Integrating Accessibility throughout... --- ### Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Images & Graphics - Published: 2024-01-05 - Modified: 2025-05-29 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-images-and-graphics-2/2024-04-11/ - Event Categories: Training Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for more information. ) About this class: This live, webinar-based training will build on the foundation established in the Intro to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class and cover specific concepts in CommonLook PDF remediation. This webinar series is offered on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 1pm Eastern time. Concepts and skills taught in the webinar series: Tables Lists Links Tables of Contents Forms Footnotes and Endnotes Advanced functionality in CL PDF, including Search Tags, Tag Similar, Find and Replace, "User" tags, and Bookmarks Images and Graphics Dates and times of specific concepts can be found on the Event Calendar. Please register at the following link: https://us06web. zoom. us/webinar/register/WN_OwzNfBYyQT-zr0Nklforzg --- ### Unlocking Accessibility: A Roadmap for Digital Document Inclusivity - Published: 2024-01-05 - Modified: 2024-01-05 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/unlocking-accessibility-a-roadmap-for-digital-document-inclusivity-2/ - Event Categories: Webinar In today's digital landscape, organizations face a pervasive yet often underestimated challenge: ensuring the accessibility of their digital documents. These documents, created by diverse teams, can inadvertently obstruct access on websites and intranets. Even tools like Microsoft Office, designed to enhance accessibility, can unintentionally generate inaccessible documents when not managed effectively. The question that arises is: How can organizations proficiently catalog and oversee their extensive digital documentation? In this highly informative webinar, our accessibility experts will unveil practical strategies that effortlessly facilitate a more inclusive content creation process. We will demonstrate how content creators can gain the autonomy to verify accessibility compliance independently, all while evaluating the outcomes through the use of precise metrics and milestones. Furthermore, we will showcase real-world examples spanning both the public and private sectors. These examples will illustrate actionable, end-to-end approaches, encompassing initial auditing and remediation, fostering an environment conducive to accessible content creation, and the critical step of measuring success. In this webinar, you will: Discover the process of initiating comprehensive compliance audits to inventory all your digital documents, establishing the groundwork for a more efficient accessibility overhaul. Explore tried-and-true methods for document remediation, whether you're addressing high-volume in-house adjustments or leveraging external partnerships for enhanced accessibility. Gain valuable insights into crafting inherently accessible documents from the start, ensuring they align seamlessly with established accessibility standards. Learn how to acquire the necessary tools and metrics to evaluate the impact and success of your accessibility initiative. This will enable you to drive continuous improvement and... --- ### GOVIT Symposium - Published: 2023-11-22 - Modified: 2023-11-22 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/govit-symposium-2/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Tradeshow The 2023 GOVIT Symposium is an easy way to step off the island and join other leaders, technologists, and business partners from across sectors— including city, county, state, regional, and federal agencies, as well as tribal government and public education. Get off the island, strengthen your teams, learn from and be inspired by others, and explore new opportunities to collaborate with your peers – all at the 2023 GOVIT Symposium! Join us on December 12th-14th for the GOVIT Symposium to recharge, get inspired, and address our challenges... Together! Booth: 419 --- ### Xplor International 2023 - Published: 2023-11-14 - Modified: 2023-11-14 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/xplor-international-2023-2/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Tradeshow This two-and-a-half-day event brings together end users, analysts, consultants, industry experts, and vendors dedicated to the education, evolution, and success of the CCM industry. The event will include: An Engaging Keynote Fireside Chat Rapid-Fire General Session Exhibitor Introductions 20 Educational Sessions (2 Tracks: Business & Technical) 3 Rounds of Birds of a Feather Discussions 4 General Session Panels Leading-Edge Exhibitors Daily Networking (including lunches and evening events) Industry Awards Booth: 13 --- ### How to Leverage Allyant's FREE ProcureEnsure Software Assessment Service - Published: 2023-11-12 - Modified: 2023-11-12 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/how-to-leverage-allyants-free-procureensure-software-assessment-service-2/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Webinar In the ever-evolving landscape of educational technology, ensuring software accessibility for all students is a paramount responsibility for procurement professionals in the education sector. But how can educators confidently assess and validate software's compliance with accessibility standards, especially when they may not be accessibility experts themselves? In this webinar, we will introduce you to ProcureEnsure's distinctive FREE service, which distinguishes our assessment process from others. Automated assessments often fail to fully capture the nuances of software accessibility, but our method prioritizes audits conducted by actual users. We integrate the best of both worlds, merging automated processes with live user testing to conduct our accessibility reviews. This strategy guarantees a comprehensive evaluation, offering a complete picture of your software's accessibility in accordance with your institutional guidelines. Topics will include how to: Gain insights into software accessibility strengths and weaknesses. Procure software compliant with accessibility standards. Foster satisfaction, engagement, and academic growth. Streamline procurement with proactive accessibility checks. Discover our user-centric approach, adherence to WCAG standards, and concise audit reports that make software procurement a breeze. Register now to revolutionize your software accessibility validation process. --- ### WCAG 2.2 Guidelines for Mobile, Web, and Beyond - Published: 2023-10-18 - Modified: 2023-10-18 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/wcag-2-2-guidelines-for-mobile-web-and-beyond-2/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Webinar In a digital age where the internet is a central part of our lives, the importance of web accessibility cannot be overstated. Accessibility ensures that people of all abilities can navigate and engage with digital content, breaking down barriers and fostering inclusivity. It's a fundamental principle of the modern web, and at the forefront of accessibility standards is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). WCAG is a set of internationally recognized standards that define how to make web content more accessible to individuals with disabilities. They provide a roadmap for developers, designers, and content creators to ensure that websites and applications are usable by everyone, regardless of their abilities or limitations. We are thrilled to announce the release of WCAG 2. 2, the latest milestone in the ongoing journey towards a more accessible digital world. WCAG 2. 2 builds on the foundation laid by its predecessors, WCAG 2. 0 and WCAG 2. 1, bringing enhanced accessibility for mobile devices and users with low vision or cognitive disabilities. Join us for this Allyant webinar to stay informed, inspired, and equipped with the knowledge and tools necessary to create a more accessible digital world. WCAG 2. 2 is not just an update; it's a commitment to inclusivity and a testament to the transformative power of accessible digital experiences. Let's ensure that everyone can participate fully in the online world. In this Allyant webinar, we will explore the significance of WCAG 2. 2 in detail, focusing on: WCAG 2. 2: Explore the enhancements... --- ### Understanding VPATs | Ensuring Accessibility Compliance in Today's Procurement Landscape - Published: 2023-10-02 - Modified: 2023-10-02 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/understanding-vpats-ensuring-accessibility-compliance-in-todays-procurement-landscape-2/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Webinar In today's digitally-driven world, accessibility is no longer an option—it's a necessity. Government entities, government-funded agencies, and commercial enterprises have recognized the importance of accessibility standards in software procurement. One essential tool in this process is the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), which evaluates a product's adherence to Section 508 and WCAG accessibility standards. Join us for an informative webinar that dives deep into the world of VPATs and their significance in ensuring equitable access for individuals with disabilities. Discover why VPATs have become a critical requirement for software vendors and how they can benefit your organization. During this webinar, you will learn: Why VPATs are now a requirement for government and business software procurement, impacting a product's eligibility for purchase. What details of Section 508 (US) impact procurement. How proactive accessibility efforts can reduce legal and financial risks while enhancing the user experience. Why a skilled team in WCAG and VPAT processes are required to ensure a VPAT reflects advanced accessibility beyond essential compliance. How VPATs transform from static documents into a dynamic resource that mirrors a product's current accessibility state. --- ### M-Enabling - U.S. Federal Government Executive Briefing - Published: 2023-09-22 - Modified: 2023-09-22 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/m-enabling-u-s-federal-government-executive-briefing-3/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Briefing The Executive Briefing sessions will provide a comprehensive review of the current evolution of digital accessibility policies and programs for U. S. Federal Government Agencies. As a particular focus of this year’s M-Enabling Summit, G3ict will provide an in-depth focus on the U. S. Federal Government’s advancement and evolution of digital accessibility and the Section 508 Program. --- ### 2023 AHEAD Equity and Excellence Conference - Published: 2023-06-29 - Modified: 2023-06-29 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/2023-ahead-equity-and-excellence-conference/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Tradeshow AHEAD is excited to announce its 46th annual conference, Equity & Excellence: Access in Higher Education, as an in-person professional development and networking event. Presenters and participants from diverse fields, including education, technology, law, scholarship, and government, will gather in Portland in July, and we hope to see you there! Booth: 203 --- ### GAAD 2023 Webinar: The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Accessibility - Published: 2023-04-17 - Modified: 2023-04-17 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/the-future-of-artificial-intelligence-in-accessibility/ - Tags: accessibility, ai technology, artificial intelligence - Event Categories: Webinar In celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), we are offering a free webinar on AI and accessibility. How intelligent automation is enabling equitable access to information for the visually impaired In today's hyper-modernized digital age, Artificial Intelligence is now categorized as the next "big thing" in accessibility and related technologies. More so, AI-related technologies are often being touted as the future of all things business related—promises of solving the majority of accessibility and compliance challenges in one fell swoop. However, AI is not an absolute, nor is there a straightforward answer to addressing the use of Ai in the corporate environment. In this 60-minute webinar, Allyant's world-leading AI experts will discuss the future of AI in accessibility, navigate the complexity of AI technologies, and discuss how the right AI technologies can be leveraged to solve the most time-consuming aspects of accessibility. Topics will include: How AI will play a significant role in corporate accessibility and compliance. The potential implications of AI on historical remediation workflows. AI and its role in automating the process of creating WCAG-compliant accessible documents. How to choose the right AI-based accessibility solution. --- ### Disability:IN - Published: 2023-04-12 - Modified: 2023-04-12 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/disabilityin/ - Tags: accessibility, disability - Event Categories: Tradeshow Booth: 203 Disability:IN Conference is a must-attend event for business leaders, diversity and inclusion professionals, advocates, and individuals with disabilities who are passionate about advancing disability inclusion in the workplace. With the theme of "Innovate, Include, Inspire," the 2023 Disability:IN Conference promises to deliver an engaging and dynamic program that will provide attendees with valuable insights, practical strategies, and inspiring stories to advance disability inclusion in their organizations and communities. Highlights include: Keynote Presentations Educational Sessions Networking Opportunities Exhibition Hall Special Events Accessible and Inclusive Environment Innovation Showcase The 2023 Disability:IN Conference promises to be an inspiring and educational event, providing attendees with valuable insights, practical strategies, and networking opportunities to advance disability inclusion in the workplace. Join us in July 2023 to innovate, include, and inspire! --- ### M-Enabling - Published: 2023-04-12 - Modified: 2023-04-12 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/m-enabling-2/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Tradeshow Join advocates, corporations, government agencies, academia, and accessibility executives at the 11th M-Enabling Summit, the leading all-inclusive conference and showcase dedicated to promoting innovations, solutions, and strategies for digital inclusion. Participants will benefit from rich and unique networking opportunities with thought leaders, innovators and developers of assistive technologies that serve more than one-billion Persons with Disabilities and an expanding aging population globally. The 2023 M-Enabling Summit will explore the latest innovations and how mainstream organizations and information technology providers compete with accessibility features and services in the marketplace. Smart organizations know to focus on the inclusion of persons with disabilities and older persons in work environments, digital products and services, urban and transportation environments, e-commerce, leisure, social or educational activities. --- ### Why Accessibility is key to Digital Engagement - Published: 2023-04-11 - Modified: 2023-04-11 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/why-accessibility-is-key-to-digital-engagement/ - Tags: accessibility, accessibility software, accessibility testing - Event Categories: Webinar This webinar covers the current business and consumer trends driving the need for Accessibility. Discussed will be the impacts of ADA regulations, influences on Customer Experience, the affects on print and alternative print services. Organizations are struggling to understand their compliance obligations, what internal skills, and services are required and how best to address this issue from an enterprise perspective. Register for this session Presenters: David Herr – VP of Enterprise Solutions - Allyant Mike Lambert - Sr Account Executive - Allyant After 27 years of working in the technology sector in technical and senior management positions, David Herr has spent the last nine years working in the assistive technology industry. With an extensive background of working in both North American and International markets, Dave has been responsible for developing partnerships at Allyant. Developing new business requires building advisory and trusting relationships, partnerships with key influencers in our industry and ensuring that Allyant is recognized as the industry leader. Dave earned his CPACC in 2016 from the IAAP. Mike Lambert is a Sr Account Executive at Allyant responsible for driving the evolution and implementation of Accessibility solutions. With decades of experience in Accessibility, CCM and CXM solutions combined with his background as an enterprise technology architect provides a unique perspective on how to leverage technology and create practical migration strategies to resolve business issues. --- ### Why Accessibility Is Key to Your Digital Strategy - Published: 2023-04-11 - Modified: 2023-04-11 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/why-accessibility-is-key-to-your-digital-strategy/ - Tags: accessibility - Event Categories: Webinar We have a speaking session in the Document Strategy Forum on May 22, 2023. Michael Lambert, Senior Account Executive at Allyant, will discuss why accessibility is a key to digital strategy in a session scheduled for May 22, 2023, at 9:00 AM EDT. Register for this session In this session, he’ll talk about the far-reaching impact of accessibility and its benefits in enhancing customer satisfaction and streamlining digital transformation. The discussion will clearly define the scope and context of accessibility and the legal obligations within enterprise organizations, including industry communication trends, business impacts, where to start, and lessons learned. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Clear understanding of the laws and regulations governing accessibility Ability to differentiate between what is compliant versus accessible Tactical approaches for solving short-term problems and strategies for evolving accessibility in the longer term --- ### Intro to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Published: 2023-04-03 - Modified: 2025-05-28 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/introduction-to-commonlook-pdf/2023-04-07/ - Event Categories: Training This 3-hour, live, webinar-based training will provide a foundation for new CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor users to feel comfortable and successful using the software. Concepts and Skills taught will include: Creating/ converting tags, Reading order, Images, Lists, Tables, Verification, and more. Please register at the following link: https://us06web. zoom. us/webinar/register/WN_t_RCj02HR56YBxkpd5rrJQ --- ### Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Footnotes & Endnotes - Published: 2023-03-31 - Modified: 2025-05-28 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-footnotes-endnotes-2/2023-07-13/ - Event Categories: Training Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for more information. ) About this class: This live, webinar-based training will build on the foundation established in the Intro to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class and cover specific concepts in CommonLook PDF remediation. This webinar series is offered on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 1pm, Eastern time. Concepts and skills taught in the webinar series: Tables Lists Links Tables of Contents Forms Footnotes and Endnotes Advanced functionality in CL PDF including Search Tags, Tag Similar, Find and Replace, "User" tags, and Bookmarks Images and Graphics Dates and times of specific concepts can be found on the Event Calendar. Please register at the following link: https://us06web. zoom. us/webinar/register/WN_Tflw2unhSeKoGdLOs4ZUNw#/registration --- ### Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Forms - Published: 2023-03-31 - Modified: 2025-05-28 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-forms/2023-06-22/ - Event Categories: Training Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for more information. ) About this class: This live, webinar-based training will build on the foundation established in the Intro to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class and cover specific concepts in CommonLook PDF remediation. This webinar series is offered on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 1pm, Eastern time. Concepts and skills taught in the webinar series: Tables Lists Links Tables of Contents Forms Footnotes and Endnotes Advanced functionality in CL PDF including Search Tags, Tag Similar, Find and Replace, "User" tags, and Bookmarks Images and GraphicsDates and times of specific concepts can be found on the Event Calendar. Please register at the following link: https://us06web. zoom. us/webinar/register/WN_cDR0soyfSIqhM_yUqbKAeQ --- ### Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Tables of Contents - Published: 2023-03-31 - Modified: 2025-05-28 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-tocs/2023-06-08/ - Event Categories: Training Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF- Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for more information. ) About this class: This live, webinar-based training will build on the foundation established in the Intro to CommonLook PDF -Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class and cover specific concepts in CommonLook PDF remediation. This webinar series is offered on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 1pm, Eastern time. Concepts and skills taught in the webinar series: Tables Lists Links Tables of Contents Forms Footnotes and Endnotes Advanced functionality in CL PDF including Search Tags, Tag Similar, Find and Replace, "User" tags, and Bookmarks Images and Graphics Dates and times of specific concepts can be found on the Event Calendar. Please register at the following link: https://us06web. zoom. us/webinar/register/WN_p9A4NGAWRaqcPiPPBrAwEw --- ### Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Advanced Concepts - Published: 2023-03-31 - Modified: 2025-05-28 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-advanced-concepts/2023-05-25/ - Event Categories: Training Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for more information. ) About this class: This live, webinar-based training will build on the foundation established in the Intro to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class and cover specific concepts in CommonLook PDF remediation. This webinar series is offered on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 1pm, Eastern time. Concepts and skills taught in the webinar series: Tables Lists Links Tables of Contents Forms Footnotes and Endnotes Advanced functionality in CL PDF including Search Tags, Tag Similar, Find and Replace, "User" tags, and Bookmarks Images and Graphics Dates and times of specific concepts can be found on the Event Calendar. Please register at the following link: https://us06web. zoom. us/webinar/register/WN_3Y8iQC52RmKrbfmtKWKFQQ --- ### Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Links - Published: 2023-03-31 - Modified: 2025-05-28 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-links/2023-05-11/ - Event Categories: Training Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for more information. ) About this class: This live, webinar-based training will build on the foundation established in the Intro to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class and cover specific concepts in CommonLook PDF remediation. This webinar series is offered on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 1pm, Eastern time. Concepts and skills taught in the webinar series: Tables Lists Links Tables of Contents Forms Footnotes and Endnotes Advanced functionality in CL PDF including Search Tags, Tag Similar, Find and Replace, "User" tags, and Bookmarks Images and Graphics Dates and times of specific concepts can be found on the Event Calendar. Please register at the following link: https://us06web. zoom. us/webinar/register/WN_e01czLvCRqugivHWeSnSug --- ### Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Lists - Published: 2023-03-31 - Modified: 2025-05-28 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-lists/2023-04-27/ - Event Categories: Training Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for more information. ) About this class: This live, webinar-based training will build on the foundation established in the Intro to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class and cover specific concepts in CommonLook PDF remediation. This webinar series is offered on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 1pm, Eastern time. Concepts and skills taught in the webinar series: Tables Lists Links Tables of Contents Forms Footnotes and Endnotes Advanced functionality in CL PDF including Search Tags, Tag Similar, Find and Replace, "User" tags, and Bookmarks Images and Graphics Dates and times of specific concepts can be found on the Event Calendar. Please register at the following link: https://us06web. zoom. us/webinar/register/WN_YDKvoEa2RAit6lP9ymlOrg --- ### Stepping Stones in CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor - Tables - Published: 2023-03-31 - Modified: 2025-05-28 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/stepping-stones-in-commonlook-pdf-tables/2023-04-13/ - Event Categories: Training Prerequisite: Attend the Introduction to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class. (Visit our Live Training page for more information. ) About this class: This live, webinar-based training will build on the foundation established in the Intro to CommonLook PDF - Desktop & Advanced Editor webinar class and cover specific concepts in CommonLook PDF remediation. This webinar series is offered on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 1pm, Eastern time. Concepts and skills taught in the webinar series: Tables Lists Links Tables of Contents Forms Footnotes and Endnotes Advanced functionality in CL PDF including Search Tags, Tag Similar, Find and Replace, "User" tags, and Bookmarks Images and Graphics Dates and times of specific concepts can be found on the Event Calendar. Register at the following link: https://us06web. zoom. us/webinar/register/WN_NiAtJvU_QHCUT1yxuFhDZw --- ### Including Accessibility in Your Digital Transformation Strategy - Published: 2023-02-15 - Modified: 2023-02-15 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/including-accessibility-in-your-digital-transformation-strategy/ - Event Categories: Webinar As technology continues to evolve, people with disabilities are accessing content in new and exciting ways. However, along with this technological shift, customer expectations are also shifting—a legally supported demand for organizations of all types to provide equitable access to information. In this 60-minute webinar, Allyant's accessibility experts will discuss industry trends that support the need for digital transformation and the importance of accessibility as part of the evolutionary business process. Topics will include how to: Navigate current legal accessibility requirements and their impact on business processes. Create an inclusive environment for employees and customers. Migrate from traditional print to legally required digital delivery. Implement cost-saving measures through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Choose the proper accessibility solutions in the procurement process when investigating new platforms. --- ### How to Successfully Prepare for a Digital Accessibility Audit - Published: 2022-10-13 - Modified: 2022-10-13 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/how-to-successfully-prepare-for-a-digital-accessibility-audit/ - Event Categories: Webinar As the digital world evolves, access to information through websites, mobile apps, and portals more than ever represents a significant share of the user experience. As such, accessibility compliance is a priority to ensure equitable access to digital properties, making information readily available and usable to everyone. Furthermore, it is important to provide equitable access for all to reduce legal risk. Many organizations are embracing digital accessibility through comprehensive accessibility audits—a process that identifies issues within websites and apps, creating a highly-defined, actionable list of what needs to be fixed to become compliant. In this 60-minute webinar, Allyant's digital auditing team members will review what an audit entails and how best to prepare for an audit to maximize results and productivity in the remediation phase. Topics will include how to: Determine audit requirements based on the type of digital property. Plan your audit and remediation timing for optimal outcomes. Select who should be a part of your audit and remediation team. Set expectations when managing audit results and ongoing maintenance. --- ### CSUN 2023 - Published: 2022-08-10 - Modified: 2022-08-10 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/csun-2023/ - Tags: CSUN 2023 - Event Categories: Tradeshow 38th Annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference Booth 209 The annual CSUN Conference has been the foremost forum on technology for all persons with disabilities. The conference is sponsored by California State University, Northridge's Center on Disabilities. CSUN provides a global platform for researchers, practitioners, educators, exhibitors, and others. It’s the perfect place to share the latest on assistive technology and inclusion. The conference offers Pre-Conference Workshops, Keynote Address, Featured Presentations, General Sessions, Sponsor Showcase Suites, and the Exhibit Hall. There is also a program for building community and networking opportunities. Allyant Sessions & Presentations PDF/UA-2: What’s New? Learn More and Add to Calendar Presenter: Paul Rayius - Allyant How to Provide Students with Real-Time, Accessible Education Learn More and Add to Calendar Presenter: Jeff Jullion - Allyant How to Implement Accessible Website Carousels Learn More and Add to Calendar Presenter: Kelly Heikkila - Allyant & Mike Sivill - Allyant Using AI to Automate Large Scale Document Remediation Learn More and Add to Calendar Presenter: Dave Herr - Allyant & Jonathan Malone-McGrew - Solimar Get to know the PDF/UA Processor Liaison Working Group Learn More and Add to Calendar Presenter: Paul Rayius - Allyant --- ### M-Enabling Summit - Published: 2022-08-10 - Modified: 2022-08-10 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/m-enabling-summit/ - Event Categories: Tradeshow Digital Inclusion: Strategies for Equal Opportunities Attracting leading advocates, corporate executives and accessibility professionals involved in digital inclusion, the M-Enabling Summit is an all-inclusive conference and showcase offering rich networking opportunities, fostering innovative technology that benefits more than one-billion Persons with Disabilities and an expanding population of aging adults globally. With its theme of “Digital Inclusion: Strategies for Equal Opportunities,” the 2022 M-Enabling Summit, in celebration of its 10th anniversary, will explore the latest innovations and major trends in business, government and education that are accelerating the pursuit of universal accessibility for digital products, contents, and services. Convened annually in Washington, D. C. , the M-Enabling Summit brings together key decision makers from all sectors facilitating unique exchanges, collaborations, solutions-sharing and thought leadership activities. The 2022 M-Enabling Summit features panel discussions, open conversations with disrupters in digital inclusion, instant polls, networking meetups, brainstorming and live debates among advocacy leaders, business executives, and technology providers. M-Enabling Summit registered participants will have on demand access to key session recordings, research reports, and other materials post-Summit. On day three of the Summit, the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) will host a thought leadership Expert Forum on strategies to scale up digital accessibility implementations. The M-Enabling Summit is committed to working with the venue, service providers, and vendors to a “health safety first” approach throughout all phases of event production and onsite execution. Health safety protocols will be updated periodically, based on applicable CDC and local authorities’ recommendations for public meetings. --- ### Colorado Digital Government Summit - Published: 2022-08-10 - Modified: 2022-08-10 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/colorado-digital-government-summit/ - Event Categories: Tradeshow Government Technology's passion is promoting best practices and spurring innovation in the public sector – more important than ever in challenging times like these. Please join us for a powerful series of sessions that provide inspiration, participation, education, and thought-provocation! --- ### California Digital Government Summit - Published: 2022-08-10 - Modified: 2022-08-10 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/california-digital-government-summit/ - Event Categories: Tradeshow Government Technology's passion is promoting best practices and spurring innovation in the public sector – more important than ever in challenging times like these. Please join us for a powerful series of sessions that provide inspiration, participation, education, and thought-provocation! --- ### XPLOR22 Conference - Published: 2022-08-02 - Modified: 2022-08-02 - URL: https://allyant.com/event/xplor22/ - Tags: 508 compliance, ada compliance, artificial intelligence - Event Categories: Tradeshow About XPLOR22 XPLOR22 is September 13-15, 2022, at the beautiful TradeWinds Island Grand Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida. The conference begins at 8:00 am on Tuesday, September 13th, and concludes at 10:30 am on Thursday, September 15th. The two-and-a-half-day event will focus on Innovative Strategies to Transform the Customer Experience and brings together end users, analysts, consultants, industry experts, and vendors who will share the best practices and strategies to transform the customer experience. Attendees can attend educational sessions, meet with leading industry vendors, and network at lunches and evening events, all in beautiful St. Pete Beach, Florida. The event features: 40+ Educational Sessions and Panels 28 Leading-Edge Exhibitors Daily Networking (including lunches and evening events) Industry Awards Allyant at XPLOR22 Booth #5 Allyant's Vendor Showcase Sep 14 - 10:05 am to 10:25 am (Jacaranda Hall: Banyan) PANEL: Compliance, Privacy & Data: How to Stay Ahead of Changing Requirements Sep 14 - 11:30 am to 12:15 pm (Jacaranda Hall: Jasmine) There are 50 US states and 10 Canadian Provinces, each with their own take on data privacy and consumer rights. Today we have to worry about more than HIPAA and security audits. There are privacy laws in force or being legislated at state and sometimes local levels. What are your responsibilities? It depends on where you sit in the communication supply chain. Let's talk about what you need to know, and what you might want to know. How AI is a Potential Game Changer for ADA Compliance? Sep 14... --- --- ## Careers ### People Services Coordinator:  Contract; Hybrid, Canada - Published: 2025-04-28 - Modified: 2025-04-28 - URL: https://allyant.com/careers/people-services-coordinator-2/ Hybrid/Location: Ottawa Reports to: VP, People Services Schedule / Shift: Monday - Friday or Monday - Thursday; Day Hours; 20 hours per week Job Overview Reporting to the VP, People Services, this position provides various administrative coordination and supports key People Services initiatives by maintaining compliance and facilitating communication between the PS team and internal business partners. This is a great opportunity for a new graduate looking to develop their skills and expertise in human resources. Responsibilities Employee Onboarding & Offboarding Manage and own pre-hire operations to include processing background and credit checks, verifying work authorization, etc. Support new hire onboarding to include new hire welcome communication, documentation completion, orientation, and training. Assist with offboarding procedures to ensure smooth transitions. Coordinate shipping/delivery of new hire welcome gifts. Compliance & Recordkeeping Manage, organize, and maintain files and documents within People Services. This includes internal team files on SharePoint and employee and contractor files. Maintain and manage company and customer compliance initiatives, including initiating and collecting acknowledgment and attestation forms Benefits Administration Assist employees with benefits enrollment, questions, and changes. Manage the Canadian employee benefit enrollment and RRSP process to include coordination with payroll. Recruitment Support Support recruitment efforts that may include posting open positions on the company website or job boards, resume review, phone screening, communication with candidates, and checking references. Assist with employee referral program communication and coordination of payment. Employee Relations & Engagement Respond to employee inquiries/requests such as employment verification letters, assistance with People Services systems (HRIS, payroll/benefit... --- --- ## Resources ### Championing Accessibility 1-on-1 with Ben Ogilvie - Published: 2025-05-13 - Modified: 2025-05-13 - URL: https://allyant.com/resources/championing-accessibility-1-on-1-with-ben-ogilvie-2/ - Resource Categories: Video Championing Accessibility 1-on-1 with Ben Ogilvie In 2009 I was working for Apple, and my dad was training for a bicycling race. He came around a corner in our neighborhood and collided with the delivery truck and became quadriplegic. I flew home to help retrofit his computer so he could keep his job, and it was way harder than it should have been.   Ben Ogilvie, Head of Accessibility, ArcTouch --- ---