Why — and how — to make your annual report accessible (or any PDF for that matter)

In today’s digital-first world, a PDF is way more than an online version of a piece of paper. Whether the PDF is an impactful annual report, a community resource guide, a 2-pager, or... well... anything else, it carries the weight of your mission. 

But, if it isn’t created to be accessible, it’s not reaching your entire audience.

While document accessibility often gets overlooked in conversations around the Web Accessibility Content Guidelines (WCAG), organizations need to ensure that both websites and the PDFs that reside on them meet accessibility standards. Under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) — amongst many other local, national and international laws — organizations need to ensure that both websites and PDFs meet accessibility standards. 

What makes a PDF accessible?

An accessible document is one that can be fully accessed by users of assistive technologies, such as screen readers or magnification tools. For it to be accessible, digital tags act as a guide on the order to read the content. 

Digital tags identify things like headings and subheadings, which may seem obvious, but what’s less obvious are the ones that identify the other elements on the page, like charts, tables, and lists. When tagged for accessibility, a screen reader knows the number of rows and columns and the order in which to read the content in a table or list. These clues are ones that visual users can easily see, but a screen reader needs to know what it’s up against on every page. 

As well, all images and graphics in a PDF need to be tagged appropriately with Alt text or descriptive text so a screen reader can tell the user what it sees. Alt text is purposeful, concise and context-driven (and does actually have best practice guidelines to follow), whereas descriptive text is used in situations where longer descriptions are needed to convey complex visuals. 

To not distract non-visual users, images and graphics are tagged to be read, whereas decorative marks, such as lines or borders, are tagged to be ignored. This helps avoid cognitive overload, ensuring screen reader users aren’t forced to hear descriptions of design elements that don’t add meaningful content. 

Design choices matter, too

The choices made in design also affect accessibility. Colour contrast is the difference in brightness between foreground text and their background. The right ratio is essential for people with visual impairments, low vision, or colour blindness, but the reality is that high contrast improves readability for everyone.  The same can be said about font style and size, as well as line spacing — avoiding overly decorative fonts, small fonts, and tight spacing improves readability for everyone.  

Why make your documents accessible?

Aside from the legal aspect, creating accessible documents is a good idea for a number of reasons. The first is that it’s about equity and inclusion as it ensures that everyone has the same access to your online documents. 

Another is from a business and marketing sense. Beyond demonstrating good social responsibility, having accessible documents on your website improves your reach by increasing search engine optimization (SEO) and making it easier for AI to parse the information. 

“Document accessibility is often overlooked entirely, yet it’s fundamentally about equal access to information,” says Dawn Campbell, Accessibility Expert and Founder of IDEA Consult Inc. “When organizations ensure their PDFs and digital documents are properly structured and tagged, they’re not just meeting legal requirements; they’re removing barriers to participation and engagement.”

Make your annual report accessible

Now that you’re thinking about document accessibility (maybe even for the first time), the best place to start is with your upcoming annual report. 

Your annual report is more than a recap of the last year, it is an invaluable fundraising tool that allows you to recognize everyone who has helped you make progress toward your goal — donors, volunteers, sponsors, funders, and other community members. When done right, it helps you strengthen existing relationships and cultivate new ones. 

So, what better document to be accessible than the one that will be used as your first line to showcase your organization for months (and maybe even years) to come. 

At Luminate, we’re experts at creating annual reports — in fact, we’ve even won strategic storytelling awards for our reports. Upon request, we partner with our accessibility partner to make sure your report meets (and may even exceed) global accessibility standards, including WCAG 2.0 AA or WCAG 2.1 AA and ISO 14289-1 (PDF/UA).