Let's Start with the Basics — Why Do Documents Need to Be Accessible?
In the digital age, countless documents are distributed through websites: government tenders, product specifications, professional articles, reports, presentations, restaurant menus, and various types of notices. These documents contain essential information — without it, the website experience is incomplete. That's why Israeli law requires that they, too, be usable and understandable for people with disabilities, particularly those with visual impairments.
The need to make documents accessible separately from the website itself stems from the fact that they appear on the site as links to external files rather than as structured text (direct HTML text) within the web pages. A blind user who clicks such a link will land directly in the document itself — a presentation, tender, terms and conditions, etc. — in whatever format it was created or saved (Word, PowerPoint, PDF) and will need to navigate through it to understand its content. This is why file-specific accessibility remediation is required to make that possible. Israeli law includes a dedicated standard (IS 5568, Part 2) that governs the criteria for this.
Therefore, a website that has been made legally accessible but whose documents have not been remediated will not be considered accessible under the law — and will fail to fulfill the overarching goal of web accessibility: providing equal browsing opportunities for people with disabilities.
How Are Documents Made Accessible?
There are 2 main approaches to document accessibility: Office document remediation and PDF remediation. Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Office Document Accessibility
Making Office documents accessible (primarily Word documents and PowerPoint presentations) is done using built-in tools within the software and allows documents to be created accessibly from the outset. However, this isn't always possible in real time, and remediation is often required after the document is already finalized. Additionally, the built-in accessibility tools in Office software are not always adequate for visual objects such as images and charts that were not originally created with accessibility in mind. This is why it's important that remediation be carried out by a specialist with expertise in Office accessibility who can address these cases as well.
Beyond that, one of the key advantages of Office-based accessibility is the ability to implement accessibility updates incrementally — meaning you can remediate an initial draft of the document and complete the accessibility work on the final version. This makes it possible to apply accessibility adjustments even when a "finalized" document that has already been remediated undergoes further changes, without requiring a full re-remediation — saving significant time and cost.
The fact that many documents created in Office software (text documents, presentations, etc.) are published on websites in PDF format is not a barrier to Office-based accessibility, since carefully saving the document to PDF format preserves the accessibility adjustments made at the Office level.
PDF Accessibility Remediation
PDF remediation is better suited for files with a strong design focus — such as brand identity documents, designed brochures, and presentations created in professional design and layout software.
Accessibility Services at UA
At UA, we'll find the accessibility approach that best fits your real-world needs — whether you're a business or a public authority. We remediate both Office documents and PDF files of all types and sizes, adapting to your goals — including in terms of turnaround time. Whether you need lengthy, complex documents (reports, tenders, meeting minutes, and the like) or short notices and announcements, whether it's intricate presentations or simple files, we'll put together the optimal accessibility proposal for you — combining professional service, fair pricing, and unmatched availability and support.