Word Accessibility

Whether you are making a Word document or preparing a PDF, the easiest way is to make the document accessible from the start. Here's how:

1. Title - Add a Title.
   • Go to File, Info, Properties, and enter the Title of your document.
2. Headings - Use "Styles" for headings.
   • Go to Home, Styles. (Open the Style panel to make is easier to see.)
   • Use Heading 1 (not Title) for the main heading, Heading 2 for section headings, Heading 3 for sub-sections, etc.
   • To use your own formatting: right-click a style, and pick "Update to Match Selection".
   • To change formatting: right-click a style and pick "Modify...".
   • To change formatting for one heading: select a style first, then format as desired.
   • Go to View, Show, Navigation Pane to see all the headings.
3. Lists - Use "Bullets" or "Numbering" for lists.
   • Don't press Enter to add blank lines between list items.
   • To add space, go to Home, Paragraph Settings, uncheck "Don't add space between paragraphs of same style", and set before/after spacing as desired.
   • To start a new line inside a list item, press Shift + Enter.
4. Columns - Use "Columns" for columns.
   • Don't use spaces, tabs, or tables to make columns.
   • Go to Layout, Columns, More Columns.
   • To set the start of a new column, use Layout, Breaks, Column.
5. Pictures - Add "Alt Text" to Pictures (and Shapes, etc.)
   • Right-click a picture, select View Alt Text, and enter Alt Text in the box.
   • Don't describe the picture, enter what it communicates. See the Image Accessibility Guide.
   • If a picture doesn't mean anything or repeats information, check "Mark as decorative".
   • Position pictures "In Line with Text" whenever possible. Use "Behind text" or "In front of text" for decorative pictures only. For "wrapped" pictures, check the reading order in Acrobat. 
6. Tables - Use "Table" for tables.
   • Go to Insert, Table.
   • Put column headers in the first row and row headers in the first column. 
   • Don't merge cells! Simplify the table design instead.
   • When pasting from Excel, pick Paste Option "Use Destination Styles".
   • Click in the first row and set Table Layout, "Repeat Header Rows".
7. Links - Use clear link text.
   • Use link text that makes it clear where the link goes.
   • Don't use vague text like "click here".
8. Headers & Footers - Use Headers & Footers for repeated information.
   • Headers & Footers are ignored by screen readers.
   • For headers/footers that need to be read, put them in the body on the first page and in the header/footer on subsequent pages.
   • Don't put links in headers or footers.
9. Text Boxes, Text Effects, WordArt & Forms - Avoid using them.
   • Instead of Text Boxes, use Paragraph indents, spacing, and borders.
   • For Text Effects & WordArt, try copying them, pasting "as Picture", and adding Alt Text.
   • For Forms, use tools like Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Designer, or Microsoft Forms.
10. Check Accessibility - Use Word's Accessibility Assistant.
    • Go to Review, Check Accessibility. Click the bottom half of the button to open the menu:
      • Check Accessibility - fix any errors the accessibility assistant finds. 
      • Alt Text - show the Alt Text pane, click on each picture, and check its alt text.
      • Navigation Pane - check that all headings are at the correct level.
    • Remember: the accessibility checker is helpful but can't test everything.
11. PDF -  "Save As PDF".
    • Don't Print to PDF. (Printing loses all the accessibility information!)
    • Use File, Save As, and change the type from Word to "PDF (*.pdf)".
    • Check your work by following the PDF Accessibility Guide.

• WebAIM: Microsoft Word - more instructions for making Word documents accessible.
• Microsoft: Make your Word Documents Accessible - best practices from Microsoft.
• Word Accessibility Exercise - an exercise to try your own Word accessibility skills!