Make text directions complete
Good text directions are not simply a list of compass bearings. They identify a specific starting point, explain decision points and describe recognisable features. “Continue to the lift beside the ticket office” is more useful when the ticket office is named consistently in signs and venue information. Avoid directions that depend solely on a colour, such as “follow the green line.”
The text should include the route attributes that influenced the recommendation. If the tool avoids steps but uses a long ramp, that belongs in the directions. If a section has not been checked recently, say so beside that step. A short summary can introduce the journey, but it should link to the details rather than hide them behind a broad claim of accessibility.
Keep keyboard and screen-reader use practical
A map can be technically reachable by keyboard while still being exhausting to use. Look for a clear focus order, named controls and a way to reach the route summary without moving through every pin. Opening a location should make its name, purpose and details available to assistive technology. Closing it should return focus to a sensible place.
Dragging, pinching and hovering should not be the only ways to reveal essential information. Zoom buttons need meaningful names, and route filters need associated labels. If a change in route status appears dynamically, it should be announced without repeatedly interrupting the user. The WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices Guide provides interaction patterns, but using an ARIA attribute is not a substitute for testing the complete task.
Support more than one way of reading
Some spectators prefer large text, some use magnification and others need simpler wording or a spoken description. Use clear headings, short steps and consistent terminology. Text should remain usable when enlarged, without concealing controls or requiring constant sideways scrolling. An icon can reinforce a label, but should not carry the only explanation.
For tactile plans and physical signs, ask where the information is available and whether someone can orient you to it. A tactile map is not automatically understandable without context. RNIB publishes resources about accessible information, while WCAG 2.2 provides a recognised framework for digital accessibility. Neither resource verifies the accuracy of a particular venue’s directions.
Offer audio without making it compulsory
Audio directions can be useful, but sound should remain under your control. Automatic playback can interfere with a screen reader, environmental listening or a conversation with staff. Provide a text equivalent and make it possible to pause, replay or move between steps. Headphones may not be practical for everyone in a busy crowd.
AI-generated speech and descriptions need editorial checks. A system may pronounce a gate name incorrectly, confuse a level identifier or invent a connection between landmarks. Directions should preserve the venue’s exact labels and avoid conversational additions that change their meaning. If translated or spoken versions are offered, the underlying route, warnings and update status should remain consistent across formats.
Prepare for poor connectivity
Mobile reception can be unreliable around crowded venues. A usable offline summary includes the route name, starting point, entrance, major decision points, important facilities and a venue contact. It should also show when the information was checked. A saved image alone may become unreadable when magnified and may offer no useful text to a screen reader.
A print version should retain the route’s essential warnings rather than removing them to save space. A downloaded file should have a meaningful name and readable structure. Remember that offline information cannot update itself. Before relying on a saved route, check whether the venue has issued new instructions and ask what to do if a critical lift or entrance is unavailable.
Test the journey with the people using it
Automated checks can detect some missing labels, contrast problems and structural errors. They cannot establish whether directions make sense under event conditions. Testing should include disabled spectators with different requirements, using their own devices and preferred formats where practical. A successful task is reaching the right information and understanding its limits, not merely opening the map.
Venue teams can ask participants to find their arrival gate, identify a toilet suited to their requirements, understand a lift-status warning and obtain an alternative. Record where the information or interaction breaks down. Use findings to improve the service rather than expecting visitors to adapt to a single interface. Access to information should remain available through a clear human contact when digital tools do not work for someone.
Read the common access questions →