According to the CDC, 61 million Americans live with a disability. This means that many of your users and customers may have trouble accessing your content if you do not provide it in a more accessible manner. People with visual impairments are a primary concern, but those who suffer from a hearing or mobility disability may also be affected by content that is not accessible.
DCatalog is passionate about changing the way content is published and consumed. The experience of flipping through a digital catalog ought to be immersive, engaging, and meaningful to a diverse audience. When you make your digital content available to everyone, you open up the opportunity for a wider reach. Read on to learn a few tips about making your PDF and digital flip book compliant with ADA guidelines and how DCatalog can help.
The Importance of Accessibility in DCatalog
What is the importance of accessibility? Accessibility ensures that everyone in your audience can read and understand the content you provide. 15% of the world’s population suffers from a disability. Now that more people have internet access, it is crucial to grant them the same comfort and abilities via digital channels as they would find in public places.
For instance, many of your viewers most likely deal with some sort of visual impairment. This can range from low vision to color blindness. A way to combat this is to use magnification tools for acuity and to provide adequate colors and contrasts in your content.
How to Make an Accessible PDF and Digital Flipbook
Here are the steps you can take to create or improve on accessibility standards in your PDF and flipbook:
- Upload ONLY an accessible PDF
- Make use of color and contrast principles throughout the digital viewer
- If you use video, make sure the embedded or linked videos are captioned or contain transcripts
- When adding audio or video clips, pay attention to how much noise there is on the page and restrict it accordingly
- If you need to replace or reorder the pages, make sure you follow the recommended PDF guidelines each time and structure it according to the specifications
Once you have designed an accessible PDF, upload it to the DCatalog platform and activate the ADA button in the Design Template Settings, under Features. Once enabled, a new icon will appear on the top of the navigation bar.
This icon will highlight text and make it easier to search. Users can tab through the navigation icons on the navigation bar and select the ADA button so that selected text can be read aloud to them with a screen reader.
How to determine if your DCatalog flipbook is compliant with ADA Section 508 /WCAG guidelines?
To determine if your flipbook with DCatalog is compliant, check out our VPAT report here , and read through our article about how to make your PDF accessible.
Remember that our DCatalog viewer now compliant with the ADA Section 508/WCAG guidelines and we will keep take more steps to increase accessibility and make it more comfortable for users to interact with the viewer. IMPORTANT: Your PDF must be the most accessible version it can be before uploading your file into DCatalog platform.
If you have more questions, reach out to one of our Publishing Executives today!