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It's much easier to make a new publication accessible from the start than it is to make an existing document accessible by tweaking it once it is complete.
Digital first - the benefits of web pages
The best format to publish documents is as HTML web pages. (HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language which is the code used to structure web pages. It's widely used as shorthand for a web page.)
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- easy to keep up to date
- correctly display in all browsers and devices
- are compatible with screen readers
- easy to add images, videos and links to
- easy to share
How we choose what to publish as HTML
If a document is relatively short (10 pages or under) and has few if any graphs or tables, then we will automatically recommend it be turned into a web attachment.
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Longer documents require assessing. If they contain numerous graphs and tables then we may be obliged to publish them as PDFs, but please note: HTML web pages are our preferred format for publishing documents.
Accessible HTML pages
See Checklist: HTML web pages for advice on making an HTML web attachment accessible.
Accessible PDFs
See the guidance about making PDFs accessible.
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Step on is using the approved UKHSA Word template. See the guidance in the Gateway publishing and Word documents section.
Accessible spreadsheets
See guidance on Accessible spreadsheetsSpreadsheets.
Accessible visual elements
Whatever format content is published in, we must ensure that all visual elements are accessible.
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We do not use alt text, in either HTML web pages or PDF documents.
A note on slidedecks
Please note that PowerPoint slidedecks are not an appropriate format for publishing new content, whether reports or guidance.
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