Accessible websites, reports and digital documents aren’t just compliance requirements. They’re better communication.
Government agencies, universities, nonprofits and organizations serving the public have an important challenge: the information they publish needs to work for everyone.
That means thinking beyond what a website or report looks like. Can someone navigate the website without a mouse? Can a screen reader understand the page hierarchy? Does a chart still communicate its meaning if someone can’t distinguish its colors? Can someone using assistive technology understand a photograph, button or infographic?
At Mountain Mojo Group, we incorporate digital accessibility into website design, content creation, data visualization and document production. Our experience includes designing digital experiences around WCAG accessibility standards and producing accessible digital documents designed to conform with Section 508 requirements.
The objective isn’t simply checking a compliance box. It’s making information easier for more people to find, understand and use.
What’s the Difference Between WCAG and Section 508?
They’re closely related, but they aren’t interchangeable.
WCAG Accessibility
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are international accessibility standards developed through the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). WCAG organizes accessibility around four principles: digital content should be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
For website projects, accessibility considerations can include:
- Proper heading structure and semantic content
- Keyboard-accessible navigation
- Alternative text for meaningful images
- Appropriate color contrast
- Descriptive links and buttons
- Accessible forms and labels
- Captions and alternatives for multimedia
- Content that doesn’t rely on color alone
- Compatibility with assistive technologies
- Predictable navigation and page structure
Section 508 Accessibility
Section 508 applies accessibility requirements to information and communication technology developed, procured, maintained or used by U.S. federal agencies and can also become relevant to organizations working with government entities or under contracts that specify 508 conformance.
For a PDF, accessibility goes far beyond exporting a document from a design program. A Section 508-accessible PDF may require proper document tagging, reading order, heading structure, table structure, alternative text, accessible links, document properties and other remediation and testing.
Accessibility Should Start With Design — Not With a Compliance Test
One of the biggest mistakes organizations can make is designing a website, report or digital publication first and asking: “Can we make this accessible now?”
Accessibility is much easier when considered from the beginning. At Mountain Mojo, we approach accessibility as part of the creative process.
When we’re developing a website, that means considering navigation, content hierarchy, contrast, links, images, forms and responsive behavior as the experience is being designed and developed. When we’re creating a report, it means thinking about heading hierarchy, tables, charts, colors, reading order and alternative descriptions before the PDF reaches final production.
Good accessibility and good design aren’t competing objectives. Usually, they’re the same objective.
Our Accessibility Experience: NAU + SWERI
Making Complex Scientific Information Easier to Access
One example of this approach is our work with Northern Arizona University and the Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes (SWERI).
SWERI brings together three institutes focused on forest restoration research, education and outreach across the interior West. NAU’s Ecological Restoration Institute is one of those three congressionally approved institutes.
That created an interesting design challenge. The website needed to communicate substantial amounts of technical and scientific information while remaining approachable to audiences with different needs and levels of subject-matter expertise.
Mountain Mojo’s work included website design and content creation with WCAG accessibility incorporated into the project. Rather than thinking about accessibility as a final checklist, we considered how people would find, navigate, read and understand the information as part of the website experience itself.
Accessibility Influenced Decisions Around:
- Information hierarchy — clear page structures and content organization that are easier to scan visually and interpret programmatically.
- Content creation — organizing technical information into understandable headings, sections and pathways for different audiences.
- Visual design — considering contrast, typography, spacing and visual hierarchy alongside the overall brand experience.
- Navigation — helping users understand where they are, where information lives and how to move through a content-rich website.
- Images and non-text content — planning for text alternatives and ensuring important information isn’t communicated through imagery alone.
- Responsive experiences — considering accessibility across desktop, tablet and mobile environments.
Accessibility isn’t something we add to good design. Accessibility is part of good design.
Accessible Data Visualization Matters Too
Accessibility becomes especially important when an organization needs to communicate data. A beautifully designed chart isn’t particularly useful if a portion of its audience can’t understand it.
That’s why our approach to accessible data visualization considers labels, hierarchy, contrast, accompanying text and the underlying meaning of the visualization. For reports and digital publications, we can take this further by creating accessible document structures and alternative descriptions that help communicate the important conclusion behind a visualization.
This experience is especially relevant for Community Health Needs Assessments, annual reports, impact reports, research publications, government reports, strategic plans, public dashboards, university websites and nonprofit websites.
Section 508 Accessible PDF Design & Remediation
Mountain Mojo also provides Section 508 accessible PDF design and production for organizations that need reports and publications distributed electronically. Our process typically moves through:
- Accessible document design
- Structured source document
- Accessible charts and tables
- PDF tagging
- Reading-order review
- Alternative text
- Accessibility testing
- Remediation
- Final compliance review
For organizations producing reports, this allows design, accessibility and information visualization to be handled as one coordinated project rather than passing a finished report to another vendor for accessibility remediation afterward.
Who Needs WCAG or Section 508 Design Services?
We particularly work well with organizations that have a lot of important information and a lot of different people who need to understand it.
- Government agencies — municipalities, counties and public agencies publishing community-facing information.
- Universities and research institutions — websites, research repositories, educational content and publications.
- Healthcare and public health organizations — community health reports, patient information and public-facing digital experiences.
- Nonprofits and conservancies — annual reports, impact reports, donor communications and websites.
- Tourism and economic development organizations — public websites and digital resources serving visitors, residents and businesses.
Accessible Doesn’t Have to Mean Boring
Accessibility does not mean every government website needs to look the same. It doesn’t mean eliminating photography, interesting typography, data visualization, multimedia or personality. It means making intentional creative decisions so those experiences don’t unnecessarily exclude people.
Beautiful enough to engage people. Simple enough to understand. Accessible enough to serve everyone.
If your organization is planning a new website, annual report, community report, impact report, public-facing PDF or other digital publication and needs to consider WCAG accessibility or Section 508 compliance, Mountain Mojo can help incorporate accessibility into the project from the beginning.
Let’s make your information easier for everyone to use.
Book a Free Accessibility Strategy Call
Grab a meeting with Rand, one of Mojo’s Founders!
What can I expect from a call with Rand? Expect a relaxed, no-pressure chat. Rand will get the quick scoop on your business, ask a few smart questions about leads, your website, and your CRM/follow-up, then help spot what’s really holding growth back. You’ll leave with clear, practical next steps, whether you work together or not.
Who's Rand?
Meet Rand, Founder of Mountain Mojo Group. He helps businesses grow through fractional CMO leadership, CRM integration, and digital marketing that actually moves the needle.
Rand’s journey started in restaurants, then took a sharp turn into MTV production in 2003, leading to 1,400+ concerts, festivals, and fundraisers. He co-founded Flagstaff’s Green Room venue, operated major outdoor events at the Pepsi Amphitheater, and ran three festivals before two successful exits led him to launch Mountain Mojo with partner Austin Leggett in 2015. Off the clock, he’s big on service, mentoring, and – most importantly – family time.
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