An Accessibility Check for Small-Business Posts Before Publishing

A useful accessibility check asks whether customers can understand your post when they experience it differently from its creator. Someone may watch without sound, use a screen reader or enlarge text on a phone. Another person may find rapid motion uncomfortable.

Start with the information they need: what is being offered, what matters about it and how to take the next step. Then check whether that information survives when sound, imagery or a particular layout is unavailable.

This is a practical editorial habit, not a claim that a post meets every legal or technical accessibility requirement.

Can the video work without sound?

If speech carries essential information, provide accurate captions using the destination platform’s supported options or a carefully checked captioned export.

Automatic transcription is a starting point. Review names, prices, product terms, punctuation and timing. A single wrong word can reverse a claim or change an offer.

Captions should remain on screen long enough to read. Keep them away from important product details and from areas likely to be covered by platform controls.

Do not assume a caption file uploaded successfully. Inspect the actual published experience where possible.

If music creates atmosphere but carries no essential information, the post should still make sense when muted.

Can someone understand the image without seeing it?

Where the platform supports alternative text, describe the image’s relevant content and purpose.

For a hypothetical bakery post, this might be:

Three walnut loaves on a cooling rack, with one cut open to show the crumb.

That is more useful than “Beautiful bread” or a list of promotional keywords.

If text in an image contains the only copy of the opening hours, offer or booking instructions, include that information in accessible accompanying text as well. Do not force someone to interpret a graphic to obtain an essential detail.

Descriptions should not invent emotions, identities or circumstances that the image does not establish. The W3C’s writing guidance provides further advice on meaningful text alternatives, clear structure and multimedia captions.

Is the text comfortable to read?

Preview the post on a small screen, not only on a large design monitor.

Check type size, line spacing and contrast against the actual background. Text over a photograph may be clear in one area and unreadable in another.

Use a contrast-checking tool when preparing graphics, especially for recurring templates. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines provide established reference criteria; a visual guess is less dependable than a measurement. The W3C’s design guidance links to contrast requirements and checking resources.

Avoid using colour as the only way to communicate meaning. “Choose the red option” is weaker than naming the option and showing a label.

Keep decorative typefaces for short accents, not the information a customer must read.

Does the reading order make sense?

A carousel should have a clear sequence, but each slide should still be understandable enough to orient the reader.

Number steps when order matters. Give slides meaningful headings rather than relying entirely on visual positioning.

In captions, use short paragraphs and descriptive links where the platform permits them. Write multiword hashtags with initial capitals, such as #SmallBusinessMarketing, to make their components easier to distinguish.

Use emoji deliberately. Long repeated strings can be cumbersome when read aloud by assistive technology.

Is motion necessary and controlled?

Review flashing, rapid cuts, aggressive zooms and animated text. If the effect makes the message harder to follow, remove it.

Avoid using a brief flash of text for an important disclaimer or condition. Give the viewer enough time to understand the information without pausing at precisely the right moment.

For an animation that explains a process, consider adding a static summary or a written explanation. The alternative can help people who cannot comfortably follow the motion.

Extend the accessibility check to the destination

An accessible post can still lead to a frustrating experience.

Open the linked page on mobile. Check that the promised information is present, the main action is understandable and the customer does not have to interpret an unlabeled image to continue.

For a Réson draft, include accessibility requirements in the brief: accurate captions, a useful image description, readable text and no essential information conveyed only by colour or sound. Then review the produced asset rather than assuming the instruction was followed.

Use one realistic test before approval

Choose a representative post and review the final export, not just the editable design. Open it on the kind of phone a customer might use. Read the caption from beginning to end, watch the video muted and check whether the action remains clear.

For a hypothetical café announcing changed opening hours, the essential information is the date range and the actual hours. A decorative graphic may support the announcement, but those details should also appear in readable accompanying text. “See image for hours” leaves the important task dependent on the image.

If the post contains a booking link, follow it. A button labelled “Learn more” may be understandable in context, but the next page still needs to explain the booking process. The test is whether a person can complete the intended task, not whether every individual asset looks polished.

Assign an owner and keep a short checklist

Give one reviewer responsibility for the final accessibility check, while inviting other people to flag issues. Record specific corrections: “Caption covers the product label at 12 seconds” is actionable; “Accessibility needs work” is not.

For recurring formats, build the improvements into the template. Reserve space for captions, use a readable type scale and avoid placing essential text over a busy photograph. Recheck the template when the channel changes its presentation or when the design is substantially revised.

Include disabled people’s feedback when it is available and appropriate. A checklist can catch common problems, but it cannot represent every reader’s experience. Treat reported difficulty as useful evidence rather than assuming that passing an internal review settles the question.

Réson can work from a brief that names these requirements. The final review remains important because a generated draft may follow the overall style while missing a practical detail that affects use.

For the current Réson workflow, see the help guide.

The final question is straightforward: if one part of the presentation is unavailable to the reader, can they still understand the offer and take the next step?

Related reading

• Plan a bilingual marketing workflow
• Refresh article cover images