Accessible Word Documents
Introduction
This information is part of a presentation created by Alexis Guethler in collaboration with the Accessibility Advisory Group at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. These resources are designed to support our faculty, students, and staff in understanding and implementing accessibility best practices in Microsoft Word documents.
As part of our commitment to Universal Design for Learning (UDL), we provide multiple ways to learn about and engage with our accessibility goals. Ensuring that Word documents are accessible is key to allowing all readers—whether they are using assistive technology or not—to navigate and understand the content effectively.
In this guide, you will learn how to create accessible Word documents by following best practices for:
Using heading styles and structure to organize content
Adding Alt Text to images and marking decorative images correctly
Ensuring consistent spacing and proper use of lists and bullets
Creating accessible tables with headers and clear structure
Checking the accessibility of your document with Word’s built-in Accessibility Checker
By implementing these practices, you’ll make your documents easier to read, navigate, and understand for all users, while also meeting accessibility standards.
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Do you want to practice? The National Center for Accessible Educational Materials has before and after word and google documents for you to use for practice:
You can also download templates that get you off to the right start with accessibility here:
Building a Practice of Accessibility
Incorporating accessibility into your workflow from the beginning is ideal. By selecting accessible resources or taking steps to remediate inaccessible materials, you can ensure that all learners and audiences can engage with your content. Small steps—such as using the built-in features in PowerPoint—can have a big impact on the usability and inclusivity of your presentations.
SLIDE
Our approach to creating accessible content can be summed up with the acronym SLIDE.
SLIDE is a mnemonic that will help you address some of the low hanging fruit of accessibility. These are small changes you can make that will have a big impact on user experience for everyone. This method highlights key elements for designing materials that benefit everyone—whether it’s for a classroom, an administrative document, or communication with our community.
S is for Styles and Structures
Using styles and structures in Microsoft Word is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure your document is accessible. While it's tempting to manually format text by changing font sizes or making text bold, this doesn’t create a structured document that assistive technologies like screen readers can navigate. To make your document accessible, you need to use Word's built-in styles for titles, headings, and subheadings.
What to look for in Word
Use Built-in Styles: The built-in Title, Subtitle, and Heading styles are crucial for document accessibility. These styles are designed to be recognized by both assistive technology and Word's navigation pane, making it easier for users to understand the structure of your document.
Title and Subtitle: Use these specifically for the title and subtitle of your document. They ensure the document’s structure is visually clear and accessible to screen readers. However, note that Word’s "Title" style is often not recognized by external formats like PDF—so instead, use Heading 1 for the document title.
Headings: Use Heading 1 for the document title and subsequent headings (Heading 2, Heading 3, etc.) to organize content. Headings should clearly describe what each section is about, allowing screen readers to efficiently navigate through the document.
Structural Steps to Make Your Document Accessible
Apply Heading Styles:
Instead of manually formatting text, apply the appropriate heading style for each section of your document.
Heading 1: Use this for the document title (Word’s “Title” style often isn’t recognized in exported formats).
Heading 2 and beyond: Use these for section headings and subheadings. They help organize your content logically and ensure that screen readers can accurately present the document’s structure.
Avoid Skipping Heading Levels:
Headings should follow a logical order: start with Heading 1 for the title, then Heading 2 for main sections, Heading 3 for subsections, and so on. Skipping heading levels (e.g., going from Heading 1 to Heading 3) can confuse both readers and assistive technologies.
Organize Information into Small Chunks:
Break up content into smaller, manageable sections under each heading. Ideally, each section should contain only a few paragraphs. This makes it easier for both visual readers and users of screen readers to follow the flow of your document.
Use the Navigation Pane:
The Navigation Pane in Word shows a real-time outline of your document’s structure based on the applied heading styles. This is a powerful tool for both writers and readers to navigate long documents easily.
Ensure that each section of your document appears correctly in the Navigation Pane by assigning the proper heading levels.
Use Consistent Formatting:
Once you've established your heading structure, keep the formatting consistent throughout the document. This not only enhances the accessibility of the document but also improves its overall professional appearance.
Microsoft Word's 'Styles' pane allows users to apply consistent formatting throughout a document, enhancing both readability and accessibility. Proper use of styles, such as Heading 1, Heading 2, and Normal, ensures that screen readers can easily navigate the document, and it helps structure content for all users.
A screenshot of the Microsoft Word interface with the 'View' tab selected. A red arrow points to the 'View' tab at the top, and the 'Navigation Pane' option is circled in yellow within the 'Show' section of the toolbar. The 'Navigation Pane' checkbox is selected, indicating that the pane is currently visible on the left side of the screen.
Video Training for Making Accessible Word Documents throught Styles
L is for Links
Links are an essential part of many documents, but they can easily become a barrier for users if not formatted correctly. Making sure your links are descriptive and clearly labeled is crucial for both visual readers and users of assistive technology, such as screen readers. The goal is to ensure that everyone understands where a link will take them without confusion.
What to Look for in Word?
Descriptive Links:
When adding links to a Word document, always ensure that the link text clearly describes the destination, rather than just showing the raw URL or generic phrases like "Click here." For example, instead of writing "Click here for more information," use descriptive text like "Learn more about the impact of disability on the CDC website: Disability Impacts Us All."
Avoid Raw URLs:
Raw URLs (e.g., https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic.html) are not only hard to read but also make it difficult for users of screen readers to understand the link’s destination. Use the link’s title as the text for the link itself.
Visual Cues:
Ensure that links are styled in a way that makes them easily identifiable. By default, links in Word are underlined and appear in blue. These visual cues are important for users who are scanning the document visually. Be cautious about changing these styles, as underlining and color are standard indicators of a hyperlink.
What special linking practices should I use to make a Word Document accessible?
Use Descriptive Text:
Descriptive links help all users, especially those using screen readers, to quickly understand the purpose of the link and where it will take them. Always include the name or title of the linked page or resource. For example, instead of saying, "Click here to visit the CDC website," rewrite it to say, "Learn more on the CDC website: Disability Impacts Us All."
Insert Links Using Built-In Tools:
Right-click on the text you want to turn into a link, then select "Link".
Paste the URL in the "Address" field.
This method ensures the link is properly coded and readable by assistive technologies.
Alternatively, you can use the Insert Tab in the toolbar, select "Link", and follow the same steps.
Use Contextual Linking:
Contextual links, where the link is embedded within relevant text (e.g., "Learn more on the CDC website: Disability Impacts Us All"), provide users with clear context before they click the link. This approach is much more accessible than just writing "Click here" or inserting a URL without explanation.
Review Your Document for Broken Links:
Regularly check your document for broken links to ensure all links lead to the intended resource. Broken links can be frustrating for all users, but especially for those using assistive technologies who may not have easy ways to navigate back and forth between resources.
Make Links Clear in Print Documents:
If you’re creating a Word document that may be printed, ensure links are usable in a print format by providing the full URL in parentheses after the descriptive text. For example, "Learn more on the CDC website: Disability Impacts Us All (https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic.html)."
Visual and Audio Cues:
For visual users, ensure that links are underlined and easily distinguishable from the rest of the text by using color and underline styles.
For audio users relying on screen readers, descriptive links help the reader know exactly where they are being directed, as the screen reader will announce the link destination.
Video Training on Accessible Linking in Word
I is for Images
Images are powerful tools for enhancing the engagement and understanding of your document, but it's essential to ensure that they are accessible. Adding Alt Text (alternative text) to images allows screen readers to convey the purpose of the image to users with visual impairments, while marking images as decorative ensures screen readers can skip over unnecessary content.
What is Alt Text?
Definition: Alt text (alternative text) is a brief description added to images and graphics, allowing screen readers to convey content to visually impaired users.
Why It Matters: Alt text ensures that everyone, including those using assistive technology, can understand the purpose of images in your presentation.
Engaging Audiences with Images
Images serve multiple purposes in your document, from supporting your message to improving engagement. Whether they are informative, illustrative, or decorative, images help to enhance the learning experience for different audiences.
A Picture is Worth 100 Words:
Adding images helps users follow your content and remember key points, especially when they align with diverse learning styles. However, they must be accessible to everyone, including those who can't visually process the image.
Use Stock Images and Icons: Microsoft Word includes built-in stock images and icons that are visually diverse and can help illustrate ideas without overwhelming the reader.
Icons are particularly useful when you want to convey meaning without distracting from the main text.
Images of People: Research suggests that audiences engage more when they see images of people, especially when those images reflect diversity and inclusion.
When to Use Decorative Images
Not all images are essential for understanding the content. Decorative images are those that are included for aesthetic purposes or to set a tone, but they don't add any critical information to the document.
It’s OK to Use Decorative Images: If an image is purely decorative and doesn’t add meaning, mark it as decorative. This ensures that screen readers can skip over the image, saving time for users without missing important content.
Keep It Relevant: Even decorative images should connect to your topic or the tone of the document. For example, a logo on the first page is usually relevant, but if that same logo repeats on every page, mark it as decorative after its first appearance.
Alt Text vs. Decorative:
When deciding whether to add Alt Text or mark an image as decorative, ask yourself:
Is this image necessary to understand the content?
Would a visually impaired reader miss critical information if this image were skipped?
If the image is essential, add Alt Text. If not, mark it as decorative.
Special Considerations for Complex Graphics
Some images, like charts, graphs, or diagrams, convey detailed information that can’t easily be summarized in a single sentence.
Long Descriptions: If a graphic requires a lengthy explanation, provide a short Alt Text (e.g., “A graphical representation of digital accessibility lawsuits filed between 2010 and 2020”) and include a long description in the document’s appendix or notes section. This allows users to dive deeper into the information if necessary without overwhelming the Alt Text field.
What to look for in Word?
When working with images in Word, ensure they are either provided with Alt Text or marked as decorative, depending on their role in the document.
Steps to add alt-text in Word
Right-click on the image you want to add Alt Text to.
Select "Edit Alt Text".
A panel will open where you can either write a brief description of the image or mark the image as decorative.
For informative images (like logos, charts, and figures), write a concise description explaining the content.
For decorative images, check the box labeled "Mark as decorative".
Avoid redundant phrases like "image of" or "picture of"—the screen reader will automatically identify it as an image.
Use the Accessibility Checker: You can also use Word’s built-in Accessibility Checker to identify images that are missing Alt Text or that may not be properly marked as decorative. This tool will help you catch any issues before finalizing your document.
To add or view alt text for an image in Microsoft Word, right-click on the image to open the context menu, then select 'View Alt Text' from the list. Alt text is essential for making content accessible to users who rely on screen readers, as it provides a description of images and other non-text elements."
Video Training for Accessible Images in Word
D is for Design
The design of your document plays a critical role in making it accessible. In Microsoft Word, using the built-in design tools ensures that your document is structured correctly and readable by everyone, including those using assistive technologies. Design includes everything from fonts and spacing to tables and color contrast.
What to look for in Word?
Bulleted and Numbered Lists:
Always use Word’s built-in bulleted and numbered list tools. This ensures that screen readers recognize the list structure and can announce “list” when reading the document. Avoid manually creating bullets by inserting symbols or spaces.
Consistent Spacing:
Instead of hitting "Enter" multiple times to create space between sections or before headings, use Word's spacing tools.
Adjust line spacing and paragraph spacing in the Design tab to avoid unnecessary gaps that could confuse users of screen readers, which would announce each "Enter."
Page Breaks:
If you need to start a new page, use the Insert Page Break function rather than adding multiple "Enter" keys. This ensures that your document remains navigable and professional in appearance without confusing screen readers.
Sans Serif Fonts:
For body text, always choose a sans serif font like Arial or Calibri, as these are easier to read for people with dyslexia or aging readers.
Decorative fonts should be reserved for headings and should be used sparingly.
Table Structure:
When designing tables, ensure that you apply the Header Row and First Column styles. This provides a structured layout that screen readers can easily interpret.
Ensure that each table has a clearly defined header row. When converting to PDF, check that the header row is set to repeat by going to Table Properties > Row > Repeat as Header Row.
Avoid leaving empty cells in tables. If a cell is intentionally left blank, insert a dash or "n/a" so assistive technologies recognize that the space is not an error
Merging cells in a table can confuse screen readers, which may struggle to interpret the table structure. When possible, avoid merging cells and instead place the title or information above the table.
Color Contrast:
Use high-contrast colors for text and backgrounds to ensure readability. For example, avoid using light text on light backgrounds. Word’s Accessibility Checker can highlight color contrast issues.
Be cautious when using gray text, as it can be difficult to read for many users.
Use Symbols in Diagrams and Charts: Alongside color, include symbols or patterns to make data comprehensible for users who may be colorblind. This also improves the overall accessibility of the table for all users, as patterns can reinforce visual information.
Design steps to make your document accessible
Check Lists and Spacing:
Review all bulleted and numbered lists to ensure they use Word’s built-in tools, and check that spacing is applied through line spacing options, not manually using the "Enter" key.
Verify Table Structure:
Ensure that tables have header rows and that all data is easily readable. Remove any merged cells and check for blank spaces.
Run the Accessibility Checker:
Use Word’s Accessibility Checker to identify potential issues with color contrast, font choices, or table structures. This tool will help flag issues that could make your document difficult to navigate for users with disabilities.
Exporting to PDF:
When exporting your document to PDF, use the Export feature instead of printing as PDF to retain accessibility features such as Alt Text and structured tables.
Highlighted in this section of Microsoft Word’s formatting toolbar are the alignment and line-spacing options. These tools allow users to control paragraph layout for better readability. Ensuring proper line spacing and alignment is important for creating accessible content, making it easier for all readers to follow the text.
Video Training for Design Elements in Word
E is for Evaluation
Evaluation is the final step in ensuring that your document meets accessibility standards. In Microsoft Word, the Accessibility Checker is an essential tool that helps identify issues like missing Alt Text, improper color contrast, and more. Running the Accessibility Checker regularly while creating your document can catch potential problems early and ensure that your document is both usable and compliant with accessibility guidelines.
What to Look for in Word?
Alt Text for Images:
The Accessibility Checker will notify you if any images in your document are missing Alt Text. While Microsoft Word may generate automatic Alt Text, it’s important to review and edit this text to ensure it accurately describes the image. Avoid using vague terms like "image of" or "picture of"—describe the image’s content and purpose instead.
Color Contrast:
The Accessibility Checker can also flag issues with color contrast. For example, using white text on a light gray background or dark text on a dark background can make reading difficult for people with visual impairments. Ensure there is sufficient contrast between text and background colors. If you're unsure, Word’s Accessibility Checker provides specific contrast recommendations.
Table Structure:
The checker will identify issues with tables, such as missing table headers or the use of merged or split cells. Screen readers rely on a logical table structure, including clearly defined header rows, to present data in a coherent way. Avoid using merged cells when possible, and always assign headers to tables.
Document Structure:
The Navigation Pane in Word shows the heading structure of your document. Headings should be hierarchical and follow a logical order (Heading 1 for the title, Heading 2 for sections, and Heading 3 for subsections). A mismatched or skipped heading structure (e.g., going from Heading 1 to Heading 3 without using Heading 2) can confuse users and affect the document’s accessibility when exported to other formats like PDF.
Objects Not in Line:
The Accessibility Checker will also highlight objects (such as images or text boxes) that are not "in line" with the text. These objects can confuse screen readers, as the flow of content is disrupted. Ensure that images and objects are properly aligned and embedded in the text, so screen readers can process them in the correct order.
Evaluation Steps to Make Your Document Accessible:
Run the Accessibility Checker:
Navigate to the Review tab and select Check Accessibility. The checker will display any issues on the right side of the screen, similar to the spell check tool.
Review each error or warning carefully. The checker will highlight issues such as missing Alt Text, improper color contrast, and inconsistent document structure.
Fix Color Contrast:
If the Accessibility Checker flags color contrast issues, adjust the text and background colors to ensure there is sufficient contrast. This helps readers with low vision or colorblindness. A contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 is recommended for regular text.
Review Alt Text:
The checker will flag images without Alt Text. Add meaningful Alt Text by right-clicking the image, selecting Edit Alt Text, and entering a concise description. If the image is decorative, mark it as decorative so the screen reader can skip it.
Fix Table Structures:
Ensure that all tables in your document have a header row. Select the table, go to Table Design, and enable Header Row. If you're exporting the document to PDF, also go to Table Properties and check Repeat as Header Row.
Avoid using merged or split cells, as they can confuse screen readers. If necessary, restructure your table to avoid merging cells.
Review Headings and Document Structure:
Use the Navigation Pane to ensure the document has a logical heading structure. Headings should be applied in order (e.g., Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3), and none should be skipped. This makes the document easier to navigate for screen reader users.
If the checker highlights issues with document structure, correct the heading levels and ensure that every section is clearly labeled.
Fix Objects Not in Line:
If the checker flags objects that are not in line, adjust their position so they are properly aligned within the document’s flow. This helps screen readers process the content in the correct order.
Check for Errors When Exporting:
If you plan to export your document to PDF or another format, be sure to run the Accessibility Checker one more time to catch any final errors. Use the Export function instead of Print to PDF to retain all the accessibility features you've applied.
In Microsoft Word, the 'Check Accessibility' tool, located under the 'Review' tab, allows users to scan their document for potential accessibility issues. This feature helps ensure that the content is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities who rely on assistive technologies
Video Training for Evaluating Accessibility in Word
Publishing and Exporting
When exporting your presentation as a PDF or other format, always use the Export function, rather than Print as PDF. The Export feature preserves accessibility settings, such as Alt Text and reading order, while the print function can strip away some of this crucial information.
Selected Resources
General Resources about Document Accessibility
General Guidance
Why accessibility? Web Accessibility Perspectives Videos: Explore the Impact and Benefits for Everyone
What is the Experience of a Screen Reader User: Screen Reader User's Experience and MS Word
National Center on Accessible Educational Materials: Creating Accessible Documents
Video from NCAEM: Creating Accessible Documents Playlist
Section508.gov: Typography
Program Specific Guidance
Word accessibility: Make your Word documents accessible to people with disabilities
Styles Headings and Formats Heading Styles Video by Microsoft
Microsoft: Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities
Excel accessibility:Accessibility best practices with Excel spreadsheets
Image and Video Accessibility Resources
How tos:
How to write a good alt tag for an image: Alternative Text
All things captions and audio description: Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media
Use the Alt Decision Tree from the W3C to triage images.
Smart Art: Making SmartArt accessible
Tools:
Free Color contrast analyzer: Colour Contrast Analyser (CCA)
Beautiful color palettes that are a11y friendly : RamdomA11y
Apply color blindness filters to your web page right within Chrome: I Want To See Like The Color Blind
A color blindness simulator for Windows, Mac and Linux, showing you what people with common color vision impairments will see: Color Oracle
Date Last Updated/Reviewed: 9/26/2024