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Accessible graphs and tables

Data must be accessible to everyone. There are a few ways you can make your data more accessible.

Graphs and Charts

Graphs and charts can make data easier to read and more accessible to some users. But they must be made accessible to other users too. You can do this through text summaries and alternative versions of the data, like a table.

They must also be accessible to those with low vision or colour blindness.

Important: You must only use colour to convey information.

Here are a couple of articles on creating accessible charts and graphs:

Tables

Tables can help you display data and can be an accessible alternative to a graph or chart. You must make sure the headers and columns are labelled correctly and they can be understood and navigated easily.

Important: Do not use a table to display non-data content or to improve the page layout.

This is because:

  • consuming content in a table can be overwhelming for some people
  • it can be harder to scan and understand for people using screen magnifiers
  • screen readers read layout tables from left to right, top to bottom. This can make content confusing or misleading if not structured correctly.

A non-data table can often be replaced by a list of bullets with appropriate sub-headings.

Here are a few articles on how to make your tables accessible:

Excel Documents

If you have a lot of data, or complex data, you might want to use an Excel spreadsheet instead of a table. Some features in Excel can create barriers. Make sure you design your document to be as inclusive as possible.

Here are a few articles on how to make Excel accessible: