FAQs

You can request a quote by completing our online quote form. After completing the form, you will get an email to confirm your request has been received. One of our team will follow up and provide your quote within 1 working day. Alternatively you can email: projects@easy-read-online.co.uk

We will provide you with a quote within one working day.

When you have requested a quote, either by email or through our online quote form, one of our team will prepare your quote and get back to you within one working day.

We will provide drafts of your Easy Read document in regular PDF format. If you have opted to have a final web-accessible PDF that meets accessibility regulations + screen-reader friendly (WCAG 2.2. compliant), we will provide this as a final draft, once you have approved the content of your Easy Read document(s) We can prepare interactive PDFs with fillable text fields and tick boxes, for Easy Read surveys and forms. There is an additional charge for this service, so please let us know if you want us to provide a quote. We do not provide Easy Read in html, although we can provide text and images files for your web design team to recreate the Easy Read content in html, or use in online survey software if you a producing a smart survey. We can also provide your Easy Read document as a Microsoft Word file, or PowerPoint file on request (free of charge).

For parity, our costs are the same across all sectors. We can offer a VAT exemption if you are a charity - please ask us about this when requesting a quote.

To provide you with a firm quote we will need a copy of your original document, or the word count of your document. You can upload your document* (or submit the word count) using our quote form. The quote form will also ask you about any additional requirements, like print-ready versions, non-English language versions and interactive PDFs with fillable fields and tickboxes for surveys and forms. If you do not have your document or word count available, you can provide us with an outline of your requirements and we will aim to provide you with a rough estimate. Contact us by email: projects@easy-read-online.co.uk *You can only upload your document in the following file formats: Word Document (.docx or .doc) or PDF (.pdf).

If you do not have your original document or word count available, you can provide us with an outline of your requirements and we will aim to provide you with a rough estimate. Contact us by email: projects@easy-read-online.co.uk

If you or someone you know needs information in Easy Read, you have a legal right to ask for it. The Equality Act 2010 says that public services should make 'reasonable adjustments' to ensure everyone can use and access their services. This includes providing information in Easy Read. You can read a free guide on how to ask for Easy Read by visiting the I Need Easy Read campaign website here: https://www.ineedeasyread.org/free-easy-read

Easy Read is an accessible format designed to make information easier to understand for people with learning disabilities, and others who have difficulty using standard versions of information. Easy Read documents present information using a combination of simple language in short sentences, clear layout, and pictures that help to convey the meaning of the text.

Easy Read was designed to help people with learning disabilities, but it is increasingly used by many groups of people, including: Children. People who have English as a second language. People who difficulty with standard versions of information. People who forget things easily. People who are short on time or feeling stressed.

Either option is acceptable in Easy Read - it comes down to personal preference. Some people like photos, others like illustrations. We like to use our own custom illustrations that are drawn by our in-house illustrator, and co-designed with people with learning disabilities. Photos can be good for depicting real-life places; illustrations can be good for depicting specific people and objects, and can make the overall design of a document more cohesive and consistent. We would only recommend that it’s best to avoid cartoon-like imagery as this can be patronising to Easy Read users.

We provide Easy Read documents in a pdf format, with A4 pages. A4 is always best for Easy Read as it allows for the right font size (16-18pt) and space for images beside the text.

Clear and accessible information can empower people to take more control over their own lives. Easy Read is important because it can help people to: Take part and feel included in the world round them. Make informed decisions. Understand their rights. Have an impact on issues that affect themselves and society as a whole. Develop their knowledge and discover new opportunities.

There is no nationally recognised standard format for Easy Read, so the design and format of documents are decided by the person or company producing the documents. This means there can be Easy Reads of varying quality out there. We are proud to work with people with learning disabilities to test the functionality and accessibility of our documents, and we believe this helps us to create documents of the highest standards.

Web accessible documents are designed to enable disabled people to use them, particularly those with a visual impairment. A web accessible PDF is compatible with screen-readers and should meet all of the criteria set out in the accessibility regulations called ‘WCAG’ (web content accessibility guidelines). Web accessible PDFs and regular PDFs don’t look any different to the naked eye, but a web accessible PDF will be ’tagged’. That means that each element of the document (text, links, images) has a piece of code that is recognised by screen-reading software, allowing the software to read the document out loud, in the correct order. When we prepare a web accessible PDF, we make sure it is tagged correctly and run thorough accessibility checks to make sure that it complies with the regulations.

There is usually a picture next to each sentence in an Easy Read document. The purpose of these images is to represent the information in the text, making the document more engaging and easier for Easy Read users to understand. While Easy Read images are meant to support the text, they shouldn’t add any extra information. We also avoid using images that are overly complicated or ambiguous to make the meaning as clear as possible.

Providing an Easy Read version of your document can help you make information and services more inclusive and accessible. This can empower people to: Have more control over their lives. Take part and feel included in the world round them. Make informed decisions. Understand their rights. Have an impact on issues that affect them and society as a whole. Develop their knowledge and discover new opportunities. Easy Read also offers many benefits for organisations, from helping you communicate with your audience better to raising more awareness about the work that you’re doing. There are also laws about providing accessible information like Easy Read. These laws indicate people’s right to accessible information and organisations' obligation to provide it.

Yes, if you’ve done your own Easy Read text we can add pictures and design.

We don’t add alt-text to images in Easy Read because they are only decorative, to support the text. Instead, images are tagged as ‘artefacts’ to effectively hide them from screen-readers. This is compliant with the WCAG regulations - here’s a link to the relevant section within the guidelines for reference: https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/decorative

We can convert any type of document into Easy Read, including reports, presentations, leaflets, consultations, strategies, letters, reference & guidance documents, policies, surveys, forms, information sheets, flow-charts, web-content, posters, meeting minutes & agendas, legal & technical documents.

Yes. We include up to 2 rounds of amendments for each document.

We know that there are fast-growing AI developments related to some aspects of our Easy Read service, like text & image generation. Whilst we are taking an interest in these developments, we remain committed to producing work that is high quality, and uses the input of people with learning disabilities. To learn more about how we are looking at AI in our work, please read our blog post: https://www.easy-read-online.co.uk/post/exploring-the-future-easy-read-online-and-ai

Yes, we can produce Large Print versions of your information. We can produce a Large Print version of your original text, or the Easy Read text, depending on your intended audience. Our costs for Large Print depend on the content. We can provide a firm quote once we’ve seen your document.

Yes, we can review your Easy Read document and provide you with a short report detailing our feedback. Our clients have found this helpful in their approach to subsequent Easy Read documents.

We work with a range of organisations in the public, private and third sectors, including HM Government, NHS England, Healthwatch England, the General Medical Council, many local authorities, art and culture organisations and international bodies like the World Health Organisation and the United Nations.

Yes, we can use your logo and follow any branding guidelines you have within the confines of Easy Read layout. If you have a designed version of your standard information, we can try to incorporate some of the design elements so that the Easy Read is cohesive.

Yes, we can produce Plain English versions of your information. Our costs for Plain English depend on the content. We can provide a firm quote once we’ve seen your document.

We do not currently provide Easy Read training. However, we are in the process of developing a training package, and we hope to begin offering this in 2025. Please let us know if this is something you would like to participate in. In the meantime, there is lots of free information about producing accessible information available online. If you are having a go at producing your own Easy Read materials, we can provide you with feedback to help you develop your skills.

Yes. We work closely with a team of people with learning disabilities, supported by our local Mencap group. They routinely check a cross-section of our documents and their feedback helps us with the quality of all our work.

Yes, we can arrange for a printing service to print your Easy Read materials and post them to you. Costs will vary depending on quantity, page numbers, paper grade etc. Alternatively, we can provide a printer-ready PDF with print marks, crops and bleeds, so that you can arrange your own printing. Please let us know about this in advance because most printing companies require documents in multiples of 4 pages for printing purposes.

Yes, we can produce Easy Read in any language you require. Firstly, we will produce an English language version of your Easy Read document. Then we can either arrange for a translation service to translate the text into another language, or you can translate the text yourself. We can then use the translated text to produce the alternative language version of the Easy Read.

We have some free Easy Read documents available to download. We add more free documents throughout the year. We also run an Easy Read Facebook group that is free to join. We currently have over 6,ooo members who share and request good quality Easy Read information.

We typically take up to 5 working days, to produce a document. When you accept your quote, we will let you know when we can start, and what date you can expect to receive your Easy Read document. We can usually accommodate requests to turn documents around in a shorter time if you have a tight deadline. Contact us to find out more. If you ask us to make any amendments, we aim to action them within 1-2 days.

We will provide your Easy Read document as a PDF file. We can prepare a final web-accessible PDF that meets accessibility regulations + screen-reader friendly (WCAG 2.2. compliant). We can prepare interactive PDFs with fillable text fields and tick boxes, for Easy Read surveys and forms. We do not provide Easy Read in html, although we can provide text and images files for your web design team to recreate the Easy Read content in html, or in online survey software if you a producing a smart survey. We can also provide your Easy Read document as a Microsoft Word file, or PowerPoint file on request.

Our costs depend on the length of the document you wish to convert. If you are able to provide us with the word count of your document, we will use this to calculate a quote.

We can provide interactive PDFs with fillable fields and tick-boxes, which are suitable for forms, surveys and consultations.

We will need a copy or a draft of your original document. When requesting a quote by email, you can send us your document or information in any format including Word, web-link, PDF, InDesign file, text-file, printed copy, in the body of an email. When requesting a quote using our online quote form it will only accept Word Documents (.docx or .doc) or PDFs (.pdf). We will send the completed Easy Read document back to you by email.

We work with clients in the UK and around the world, including the World Health Organisation and the United Nations. If you require your Easy Read document to be in a language other than English, we can either arrange for a translation service to translate the text, or you can translate the text yourself. We can then use the translated text to produce the alternative language version of the Easy Read.

If you have not received a reply to your email within 48 hours and you have an urgent enquiry, you can call our Director, Kelvin, on 07930 760 868.

We use a specific font which has been designed specifically to be accessible for people with learning disabilities. We would not advise using another font as this would be less accessible for the end reader.

Yes, you can ask for your document to have either photo images or illustrations alongside the Easy Read text. We would advise using either one or the other to maintain consistency for the reader. If you do not specify a preference, we will use our in-house illustrations which are drawn by our in-house illustrator and co-designed with people with learning disabilities.

We will do our best to accomodate you. Please tell us at the earliest opportunity if you have a hard deadline to meet.

Photosymbols are a type of image produced by a company that has created a photo library of functional images which include and centre people with learning disabilities. We license photos from the Photosymbols library and use these amongst other photos.

You have up to 2 rounds of amendments included with each Easy Read document. You can request amendments by filling in the amendments form we provided when we sent you the first draft of your Easy Read document(s). Alternatively, you can add tracked comments to the Easy Read PDF and then send this (or the amendments form) back to us via email. One of our team will respond to let you know how quickly we can action your changes. If you need further amendments after the two initial rounds, we can action these but work will be charged at an hourly rate.

You should be in direct contact with the technical writer who is working on your document, and they can help you with any issues. You can also contact our wider team if required, via email. If you wish to contact a specific member of our team regarding any issues, e.g. a manager or director, you can find our team members' names and roles on our about us page, and address your email 'For attention of: recipients name'.

The short answer is it won’t. The aim of a 4 day week is to be as productive in 4 working days as 5. That means Easy Read Online will continue to be as productive, with our current turnaround times remaining consistent for clients. You can read more about this on our website: Why we’re trialling a 4 day working week at Easy Read Online

You can enquire about this at any point during the production process. The group of end users we work with test documents once a week, so there may be a slight wait for your document to be checked.

In the rare event that you have not received your document by the agreed deadline, please contact our team via email.

This can be a useful step if you would like to find out what end users think of your document. We work closely with people with learning disabilities to quality check our documents on a regular basis and implement their advice across the word we produce. So even if you do not have your document checked, you can be assured that your document will be up to date in terms of accessibility.

If you have agreed to proceed with a quote, the best way to enquire about the progress of your document is to get in touch with our team via email. You will be advised of a turnaround time when you accept the quote. This is typically within 5 working days of us starting the work.

We aim to action amendments within 1-2 days. Once we've received your requested amendments, one of our team will respond to let you know how quickly we can turn them around.

Yes, we can provide you with a copy of your document in Microsoft Word or Powerpoint.

We are happy include any images that you would like in your Easy Read document, assuming they are relevant to the Easy Read content. Please advise us of what you would like to be included at the earliest opportunity so our design team can include them.

It typically takes up to 5 working days to produce a document, from the date we start the work. We will advise you of a specific timeframe and completion date when you accept our quote.

We ensure that all of our web-accessible pdfs meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 (WCAG) using widely available checking software.

Accessibility regulations in the UK require public services to make their websites and mobile applications accessible. This includes any information that is shared and published online. We prepare web-accessible PDFs that follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2), ensuring the documents are fully compliant with accessibility regulations and compatible with screen-readers.

The Equality Act (2010) says that disabled people have a right to information in a format that they can understand. This is a reasonable adjustment. The Act gives Easy Read as an example of a reasonable adjustment. Health and care services also have a responsibility to provide information in a way that people can understand, as set out by the Accessible Information Standard.

While there are no national standards for Easy Read yet, we are members of the UK Association of Accessible Formats and follow guidelines set out on their website.

No. You can share your Easy Read document publicly as you wish, but you cannot use the images separately for other purposes.

We are licensed to use all of the images which appear in our documents. We have subscriptions with several stock image libraries including Photosymbols and Shutterstock. You are permitted to share your Easy Read document publicly as you wish, but you cannot use the images separately for other purposes.

Yes, we work to a strict confidentiality policy.

The law says that Easy Read is a reasonable adjustment to help disabled people understand information. This means that, if your client or service user needs information in an Easy Read format in order to understand it, you have a responsibility to provide the information in that format.

The law says that Easy Read is a reasonable adjustment to help disabled people understand information. This means that, if your client or service user needs information in an Easy Read format in order to understand it, you have a responsibility to provide the information in that format.