Keep the words available
When text is baked into an illustration, enlarging it may mean enlarging the entire picture. It can also become unavailable to text selection, translation tools and assistive technology. Actual text, presented in a meaningful reading order, gives readers more options. Where a visual treatment is essential, an equivalent accessible presentation still needs careful planning.
Readable typography is not a contest to find one universally ideal font. Text size, spacing, line length, contrast and the ability to change settings all matter. Some people use browser zoom; others enlarge only text or apply their own colours. A layout should keep controls and sentences available rather than clipping them when preferences change.
Make the route understandable
A reader should be able to distinguish story content from navigation. “Continue to the garden” communicates more than “Next” when several actions are nearby. Consistent placement helps, but labels must also make sense when a screen reader encounters controls in sequence rather than as a complete visual page.
Keyboard users need to reach and activate choices without a mouse. A visible focus indicator shows which control will respond. If an interaction depends on dragging an object, provide another way to perform the action where required. A large touch target is helpful, but it does not by itself solve access for a person using a keyboard or switch.
When a choice replaces the current passage, consider what happens to focus and reading position. A user should not be left on a vanished button or sent unexpectedly to the top of the document. Changes need to be understandable without announcing every decorative update.
Describe what matters to this story
Image descriptions should serve the image's purpose. A decorative border may need no spoken description. An illustration showing that a character has hidden a key may carry information the text never states. The alternative must account for that role, while considering whether revealing the detail immediately changes the intended reading experience.
A short alternative can identify an image, while a longer description explains a complex scene elsewhere. There is no benefit in making every description equally long. Ask what a reader needs to follow the narrative and make the same decisions, then test whether the wording supplies it without irrelevant visual inventory.
Unclear control
An unlabelled arrow that appears only when a small animated object is touched.
A clearer alternative
A persistent “Continue to the next room” control with a visible focus state and keyboard support.
Use standards as a foundation
WCAG 2.2 is a W3C recommendation containing testable accessibility success criteria. It addresses areas including text alternatives, keyboard operation, contrast and timing. WCAG conformance requires attention to the applicable criteria and complete processes; a few accessible components do not establish that an entire story conforms.
WAI-ARIA defines semantics that can support assistive technology when native HTML is insufficient. It is not a replacement for a working interaction. A native button usually provides a better starting point than a generic element made to look clickable. EPUB Accessibility 1.1 addresses accessibility and discoverability for EPUB publications, while EPUB 3.3 defines the publication format itself.
The Accessible Books Consortium supports the availability of books in accessible formats. Bookshare is an accessible ebook service with eligibility and access conditions. These organisations illustrate a wider publishing ecosystem; they should not be interpreted as endorsing this website or any story mentioned here.
Respect time, energy and preference
Unnecessary countdowns and automatic page changes can turn reading into a task of keeping up. Let readers pause, repeat and leave a session without avoidable loss of place. If progress is saved, explain what is stored and where. A bookmark on one device may not follow a reader to another.
During an informal review, try the story without sound, with reduced motion, using a keyboard and at increased zoom. These checks reveal some barriers, not every barrier. Screen-reader testing and work with disabled readers require appropriate knowledge, time and attention to feedback.
For families and educators, ask the reader which arrangement feels comfortable before assuming they need more stimulation or more help. One person may choose narration, another a quiet page, and another a partner reading aloud. The aim is not to make everyone use the same route. It is to let the story remain reachable through different routes.