- dos and don'ts of adding plain text
this is a simple guide meant to help people who want to add a plain text version of their formatted text on their posts but aren't sure how to go about it.
disclaimer: this post is long, but separated into sections using emojis
❌️ put the plain text at the bottom of the post, under a read more, on a link, etc
this makes it harder to find the plain text and makes disabled people have to go through more steps to actually access your post. links are specially bad because if they break, the plain text is lost. a read more will break if your blog is deleted or you change your url.
✅️ make it directly above or below the original text
this way, it's much easier to find for the people who need it, and won't have the risk of breaking or no longer appearing if something happens to your blog
❔️ parenthesis or no parenthesis?
the use of brackets or parenthesis at the start and end of a plain text transcribe isn't too necessary, but it isn't harmful either, so it's up to you to decide if you want to add that or not.
❌️ lack of start and finish mark
if you don't make it clear where the plain text starts and finishes, it will just be confusing, and people will struggle to figure out if it isn't just a caption to the post. people who use screen readers will also have a hard time telling apart the transcription and any comment or caption added
✅️ add a start and finish mark
you can make that in several ways, such as, but not limited to:
- PT: plain text here. End PT
- Plain Text: plain text also here. End of Plain Text
- Start Transcription: plain text here as well. End Transcription
❌️ make the contents different
plain text is meant to make inaccessible text be accessible. if you think the wording on your post is bad, or made a typo, don't use the plain text to fix that
remember, if you edit the original text, you should also edit the plain text
plain text is what it says on the tin, plain, default. if you format it in any way, like making it bolded or colored, it'll defeat the purpose of having it in the first place
❔️ what to add plain text to?
any sort of formatted text, such as bold, italics, large or title text, small text, special fonts, colored text, and such
❔️ what not to add plain text to?
bullet points, numbered text and indented text. they may sometimes not actually be read by screen readers, but cause no harm as far as i'm aware
if someone turns the text from your post into plain text, add it to the original. this way, more people will see the plain text version and it will be more easily accessible then if left ignored
❔️ what if i can't make it?
if, for any reason, you can't add plain text to your post, you can always request people to do so! it's not bad to ask for help and there are plenty of blogs on this site focused on accessibility that could help you with that. and, again, if someone does add plain text to your post, add it to the original
this is all that i could think of, for now, but i hope this is helpful to anyone looking to make their blog accessible
