We firmly believe that the internet should be accessible to anyone, regardless of circumstance and ability. We're committed to continually improving the built-in accessibility of our products to provide a great experience to the widest possible audience. For more information, read our full Accessibility Statement.
Webex Events also has tools and settings you can leverage to make your Event even more accessible. This article highlights accessibility features in Webex Events, and it outlines additional measures you can take to help you achieve a more accessible and inclusive experience for attendees and everyone involved in your event.
Alt text
Make sure to add alt text as you upload images to various places throughout your Event. Assistive technologies like screen readers use alt text to describe images to people who are blind or have low vision, and alt text appears when images don't load. Encourage attendees to add alt text to the images they upload to the Wall feature, too!
For more information, read our article about alt text best practices.
Color contrast
The Webex Events platform is incredibly customizable, and there are ample opportunities to match the Webex Events products you use to your event's branding. Make sure all feature icons, images, text, and group, track, and category colors have sufficient contrast. This helps ensure that content is accessible to people with various visual disabilities.
Here are some tools to help you test and verify color contrast:
Registration
In Registration General settings, activate the Enable language selection toggle so that registrants can select their preferred language when they register.
On checkout forms, consider including a registration question asking registrants if they need accessible accommodations. We recommend making this a long text question type to give people enough space to request any accommodations.
Event communications
Send clear and concise Event App login instructions, and make sure all communications are in an accessible format. All images in emails and written instructions should have alt text, and hyperlinks need to make sense when read out of context so that the link destination is immediately clear.
✅ Accessible - Join the Event App.
❌ Not accessible - Click here.
For videos, do your best to include closed captions, transcripts, and audio that clearly describes the important visual content in the video.
We have event app access instruction templates to help you get started, and our article about attendee guides is a great resource, too!
Event support
Have technical support available for all aspects of your event, including the Event App, live streams, and check-in and badge printing.
Live streams and Sessions
The following section provides several guidelines and tools for an accessible live stream. While this list is by no means exhaustive, it's a great place to start thinking about how you can make live streams and sessions more accessible and inclusive.
Setup
When adding a Live Stream feature or a Session in the Webex Events platform, activate chat so that attendees can participate in the live stream.
In Webex Events Production Studio, familiarize yourself with available keyboard shortcuts. You can even customize them to fit your needs!
When you use Webex Events Production Studio, Webex Events RTMP player, Webex Events Simulive, or Webex Events Video on Demand, you have unlimited access to Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations. This service provides captions in over 30 languages at no additional cost! If you want to provide the accuracy of human captioning, work with a third-party human caption provider such as SyncWords or Interprefy.
Presentation tips
Use high-contrast slides, large, readable fonts, and keep slides as simple as possible to ease cognitive load.
Describe visual content verbally for anyone who might not be able to see it.
Be sure to spell out acronyms and avoid jargon to make your presentation as inclusive as possible.
Provide content warnings for sensitive visuals and subject matter.
Remove unnecessary visual and auditory distractions.
Allot time for regular breaks during presentations to give people a chance to recharge their focus and address any physical needs.
Avoid flashing and flickering in GIFs, as this can trigger health issues like seizures in some people.
In Webex Events Production Studio, add your pronouns, company, and role to the optional tagline field.
Post-event resources
Adding Session recordings and other resources to your Event App is beneficial for people who want to refer back to content at their own pace. For some, it’s a challenge to participate and process information in real-time, so having access to resources after a session aids in comprehension and retention.
Add recordings, links, and attachments directly to a Session or Live Stream feature, or organize resources in a Custom List feature!
Download Session recordings and upload them to Video Center with Captions & Translations activated, then add Session recordings to your Event App.
If your Session has a Q&A portion, provide written answers for any questions you answered verbally, and provide a Q&A document after the Session.
Include resources like presentation slides and contact information so attendees can follow up and stay connected.
Pro tip! 😎 Send an announcement to attendees to notify them when you've added these resources to the Event App!
Third-party accessibility overlay
In Webex Events Registration and the Web App, we also offer an optional overlay with selectable accessibility profiles and adjustments, powered by a third-party AI solution. Keep reading to learn how to activate the third-party overlay and what the attendee experience is like.
The third-party accessibility overlay is inactive by default. Read the following instructions to activate it for the Web App and Registration.
💡 Keep in mind, Branded Apps and the Webex Events Mobile App don't offer the accessibility overlay.
Web App
In your Event navigation bar under 'Event App', click Web App. Activate the Enable Third-Party Accessibility Overlay toggle, then click Save. Web App users can now access the third-party overlay.
Third-party accessibility tools in the Web App
After you activate the 'Enable third-party accessibility overlay' option for the Web App page in the platform, attendees can access and turn on the third-party overlay in the Web App. Here's how:
Click the user profile image in the bottom-left corner of the Web App.
Click Accessibility Adjustments to open the overlay menu.
Use the mouse or tab to select items in the Accessibility Adjustments panel.
For keyboard operation, press Enter when an item is highlighted to toggle it on or off or adjust it up or down.
Webex Events Registration
In your Event navigation bar under 'Registration', click Settings, then click General to open the General Settings page.
Scroll to the Accessibility Settings section and activate the Enable third-party accessibility overlay toggle.
Click Publish Changes. Registrants can now access the third-party overlay.
Third-party accessibility tools in Registration
To activate or deactivate the third-party overlay on the Registration page:
Click the Accessibility Adjustments link at the bottom of the screen.
Use the mouse or tab to select items in the Accessibility Adjustments panel.
For keyboard operation, press Enter when an item is highlighted to toggle it on or off or adjust it up or down.
Now you know how to make your event more accessible and inclusive! Next, read our article about launching and promoting your Event App.
Questions? Chat with us or email support@socio.events.