• Headings
  • ​Structure your document with headings.
    • You can add headings using the Styles pane.
    • You can use the shortcut Ctrl-Alt-# (Windows) or Cmd-Opt-# (Mac) to add the style as you type, where # is the level of heading you want to apply (1, 2, or 3).
  • Make your headings clear and descriptive. Accurate headings help users navigate quickly to the information they need and make it easier to understand the purpose of each section of the document.
  • Use proper outline hierarchy.
    • Heading 1 should be the broadest, most important level of content, and each increasing level is more specific.
    • Only increase heading levels by 1 when moving to the next level of specificity. Never jump straight from heading level 1 to 4, for example.
  • Avoid the “Title” style. The title should be a "Heading Level 1", major sections should be Heading Level 2, and so on.
  • If you like, you can modify the appearance of a particular heading level by changing the style template.
• Document title
  • ​A set title means a screen reader will read the title of the document rather than a potentially unclear file name. This is especially useful if you plan to convert a Word document to a PDF.
    • Your document should have a heading 1, as well as a title. Optionally, you can copy your heading 1 and paste it as your document title.
    • To add a title, select File, Info, and on the right-hand side under Properties, select the Title form field.
• Table of contents
  • A table of contents is especially helpful in long documents so people can jump straight to the content they want.
  • Create a table of contents through the Reference ribbon. (This will only work if you have already defined headings for your document.)
  • Don’t create the table of contents manually. In a table of contents created properly, the numbers and sections will update as you make changes. In addition, each section is hyperlinked to that part of the document, which is beneficial to all users and particularly useful to someone navigating with a keyboard or touch screen.
• Lists
  • Use the list buttons in the Home ribbon to create lists.
  • Check if your list is properly created: if you hit Enter, a new bullet point, or the next list number should automatically appear on the new line.
• Hyperlink text
  • Ensure hyperlink text describes its destination, is unique, and makes sense out of context.
  • Assistive technology users might skip from link to link in a document without reading the surrounding text, so links should be understandable outside of their context.
  • Avoid using full raw URLs for link text unless they are short and intended to be memorized.
  • If the link destination is a web-hosted document (PDF, .ppt, .doc, etc.) rather than a web page, indicate the document type at the end of the link text, like Org Chart (PDF).
• Tables
  • Use a simple layout, because a complicated table can be difficult to navigate with a screen reader.
    • Avoid nested tables and blank cells.
    • Break up a complex table into multiple tables if possible.
  • Add a header row to your table.
    • A screen reader user frequently navigates a table one cell at a time and is unable to look up to the top or left of the table to check on what the information in the cell relates to.
    • Add a header column to your table if appropriate by selecting “First Column” in the Table Design ribbon.
    • This allows assistive technology to read out the heading for the new row when the user is navigating vertically through the table.

Objects & Images

• Provide alternative text to all meaningful images or shapes.
  • “Alt” text is a brief description of the meaning of a graphic or image. The goal is to convey the purpose or meaning of the visual, not just to thoroughly describe every aspect of what you see.
  • If a graphic or object is entirely decorative, mark the graphic as decorative so assistive technology knows to ignore it.
• Reading order of objects and text
  • If your image or object has a Wrap Text property that is not ‘In Line With Text”, you will need to ensure that the page reading order makes sense with the image.
  • An object or image will be read out to screen readers at the point where its image anchor is located. (Learn more under “Understanding Anchors”.) If the image will not make sense at its current anchor location, you can click-and-drag to relocate the anchor in the page reading order.
• Avoid using text boxes.
  • Text box content is not accessible to a screen reader user.

Multimedia

• Video content (including external content linked to from the document) should have captions, and audio content should have a transcript.
• It is not possible to add a caption file to an embedded video in Word, so open accurate captions will need to be burned into the video.
• If your content or external content does not have captions, please follow the appropriate step ensure the media has the accurate captions, audio, and transcripts.

Advanced Features

• Document Protection
  • If the document is protected to prohibit editing, assistive technology often cannot read the content. Avoid using this feature.
  • If you need to protect a document and an assistive technology user needs access, it is preferable to send them an unprotected copy of the document, as opposed to trying to implement different protection rules for specific users in the original document.
• Forms and Surveys
  • Use appropriate survey software such as Qualtrics and use the Accessibility features to build your form or survey.

Exporting to PDF

Please consult the WebAIM tutorial on exporting to PDF. This step is critical to create an accessible PDF from your accessible Word document.

Accessibility Checker

The accessibility checker in Office 365 Products such as Word will identify some accessibility problems, such missing alt text for images, a lack of table headers, and restricted document access. The accessibility checker will designate each problem as an “error,” a “warning,” or a “tip,” with “errors” being the most severe problems and “tips” being the least severe.

However, there are some accessibility problems an automated checker will fail to identify, and it is important to learn to identify them or ask for an accessibility consultation. For example, the accessibility checker will not identify if headings are assigned to the appropriate level, if text color or style is used exclusively to convey information, or if there are inaccuracies in alt text.