Accessible e-learning content: the complete step-by-step guide

Accessible e-learning content ensures that anyone, regardless of their physical, sensory or cognitive abilities, can access, understand and complete online training. For organisations, accessibility is not just a legal obligation — especially since the European Accessibility Act came into full force in 2025 — but a direct competitive advantage: it improves talent retention, expands the reach of training and strengthens brand reputation. Yet only 20% of online training programmes are accessible, according to industry data.

This guide gives you the keys to easily create interactive and accessible learning experiences that will foster the development and engagement of every member of your organisation.

Why accessible content matters to your organisation: real impact beyond compliance

Accessibility in corporate training has a direct impact on business results. According to Accenture’s Disability Inclusion Research, companies that lead in disability inclusion achieve, on average, 28% higher revenue, double the net profit and 30% higher economic margin. McKinsey’s Diversity Wins report concludes that more diverse and inclusive organisations are 36% more likely to outperform their peers in profitability.

Beyond financial data, creating accessible e-learning content directly impacts:

• Talent retention: employees with disabilities or specific needs who encounter barriers in training tend to leave the organisation more quickly.
• Legal compliance: the European Accessibility Act (EAA) requires digital products and services — including training systems — to comply with WCAG level AA from June 2025.
• Employer branding: a company that guarantees equal access to training projects an image of a responsible and talent-attractive organisation.
• Pedagogical quality: accessibility principles improve the learning experience for all users, not just those with disabilities.

You can explore this topic further in our article on accessibility in e-learning.

Key accessibility principles: what to consider when developing accessible e-learning in your organisation

Accessibility allows us to ensure that all learners can access e-learning courses and complete them without encountering barriers. To start building an accessible training plan, it is essential to understand the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the international standard published by the W3C. They are organised into 78 criteria and three levels of compliance:

The 4 POUR principles: the foundation of all accessible e-learning content

The WCAG are built around four fundamental principles, known by the acronym POUR. Understanding them is essential for making the right instructional design decisions:

• Perceivable: information must be presented in a way users can perceive. Example: a training video must have subtitles and, if it contains relevant visual information, an audio description.
• Operable: interface components must be operable. Example: all interactive elements must work with the keyboard, without needing a mouse.
• Understandable: information and the user interface must be understandable. Example: error messages in an assessment must clearly indicate what went wrong and how to correct it.
• Robust: content must be robust enough to be interpreted by assistive technologies. Example: the course code must be compatible with the most common screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver).

To explore how to apply these principles, read our guide on accessible e-learning design.

The 5 most common mistakes when creating accessible e-learning content (and how to avoid them)

Knowing frequent mistakes is just as important as knowing best practices. These are the most common errors in training content production:

• Insufficient contrast: using grey text on a white background without checking the ratio. WCAG requires a minimum of 4.5:1 for normal text. isEazy Author alerts you when contrast does not meet the standard.
• Videos without subtitles or transcripts: the most widespread error, affecting any learner in a noisy or silent environment.
• Interactive elements not navigable by keyboard: cards, accordions, drag & drop and simulations that only work with a mouse exclude users with reduced mobility.
• Unstructured PDFs: attached documents without heading hierarchy or proper tagging are inaccessible to screen readers.
• Testing only without disabilities: many teams run tests but never with users who use assistive technologies. NVDA is free and lets you simulate the experience before publishing.

How to create accessible e-learning content step by step with isEazy Author

Beyond understanding the regulations, creating accessible learning experiences is not straightforward. Many organisations outsource production of their accessible courses, which involves considerable increases in costs and time. The most affordable solution is the in-house use of authoring tools. However, not all are equal: while most require extensive knowledge of accessibility, programming and design, isEazy Author allows you to create accessible courses in an agile and intuitive way. Here is how the process works step by step:

Step 1: Configure the course cover

isEazy Author allows you to add a cover image with alternative text, so that screen readers can correctly identify the learning resource from the very first element.

Step 2: Customise while maintaining accessibility

• When adding your company logo, you can include descriptive alternative text, just as with any image.
• Regarding the course background, in accessible mode the background image will be subtly veiled to ensure text legibility.
• The colour palette is managed automatically: isEazy Author generates an accessible version of the colours to meet WCAG contrast requirements.
• The same applies to typography: automatically modified in the accessible version to meet accessibility requirements.

Step 3: Other considerations to keep in mind

• Course language: choose the language from the available dropdown — a key setting for screen readers.
• Navigation: in accessible mode only free navigation can be selected.
• Dual mode: once published, courses are available in dual mode, with users choosing the version — accessible or standard.

Step 4: Edit the course content

isEazy Author relies on 4 basic accessibility pillars to guide the editing process. Every element — text, image, video or downloadable resource — can be configured to meet these criteria without advanced technical knowledge. For more context, read our article on e-learning content.

Step 5: Include accessible interactive content and games

Adding interactive content is one of the keys to ensuring course effectiveness. Including accessible interactive content in isEazy Author means: providing alternatives to drag & drop interactions, good focus management for keyboard navigation, alternative text for informative images, clear instructions, and feedback that never relies solely on colour. isEazy Author also allows games to be included using gamification dynamics, also in accessible mode.

EMASESA, a municipal water company, used isEazy Author to create high-quality training content in record time, ensuring accessibility standards from the very start of the production process. Find out how they did it →

Examples of accessible elements in e-learning: common issues and how to solve them

Not all authoring tools offer a sufficiently varied catalogue of interactive content. And if we also need them to be accessible, the options shrink even further. Below we show the most common issues by element type and how to resolve them in the accessible version:

Basic elements: images and interactive content

Images are a very useful resource for complementing and contextualising text information. Displayed in gallery format, they can also help explain complex processes or documentation learners need to consult.

• Issue: people who are blind or have a visual impairment cannot access image resources. Interactive elements with information hidden behind animations can be difficult to consume with screen readers.
• Accessible version: images with relevant content must be accompanied by alternative text. The content of interactive elements such as cards and galleries must be structurally exposed. File download links must display relevant document type information and be keyboard-accessible.

Multimedia elements: audio, video and voiceover

Multimedia resources allow relevant information to be conveyed in a more dynamic format that facilitates storytelling. Interactive video helps reinforce concepts by requiring active participation. Voiceover can be very useful for introducing course content.

• Issue: elements that play automatically must be avoided. Learners with visual or hearing impairments cannot access audio and video content without alternatives.
• Accessible version: videos need subtitles, transcripts and audio descriptions when they contain relevant visual information. Audio requires a full transcript. No element should play automatically without the learner activating it.

Exercises and assessment interactive content

Exercises are essential for assessing learning and consolidating knowledge. However, many have contrast issues and are insufficient for use with assistive technologies.

• Issue: drag & drop interactions, multiple choice coded only in colour, or form fields without descriptive labels create barriers for users with reduced mobility, colour blindness or who use screen readers.
• Accessible version: include alternatives to drag & drop, good focus management for keyboard navigation, alternative text for images and clear instructions. Feedback must never be based solely on colour: always complement with an explanatory message.

The best authoring tools for creating accessible e-learning content

Choosing the right authoring tool is a key decision for any L&D team that wants to ensure the accessibility of their training. Not all platforms offer the same level of WCAG support, nor the same ease of use for teams without technical knowledge in accessibility. Below we compare the main options on the market:

Create an accessible course automatically with AI Autopilot

All the steps above allow you to create an accessible course manually and in a fully personalised way. If you need to move faster, isEazy Author’s AI Autopilot allows you to automatically generate a 100% accessible course from an idea or corporate documentation.

The AI applies from the very beginning:

• The complete pedagogical structure (introduction, key concepts, examples, assessments).
• WCAG accessibility standards, integrated into the design from the start.
• Instructional design, resources and the most appropriate interactivity for each type of content.
• Subtitles, transcripts, adapted navigation, alternative text, reading order and compatibility with assistive technologies.

When should you choose the manual process and when AI Autopilot?

Want to see how AI Autopilot works in practice? Request a free isEazy Author demo and see how easy it is to create accessible content from the very first click.