Accessible title

Give each document a unique title that clearly describes what it is about. Enter this in the Title field under File > Info > Document Properties. This way screen reading software will read the document title rather than the filename, which provides a better user experience. 

Accessible headings

Use the ‘Styles’ tool to apply heading levels to any headings used in your document. Avoid creating headings by manually changing text appearance. Heading levels should have a hierarchical/nested structure. Heading 1 should be applied to your document title. Avoid using the Title heading style. This seems counterintuitive, but it is lost when converting documents to PDF. Heading 2 should be applied to the highest level of headings within the document, Heading 3 to the next level of subheadings, etc. Select the text of the heading, go to the Styles toolbar and click on the heading level you want to apply. Make sure any headings used in your document clearly describe what the section is about.

For more information see Microsoft video: Improve accessibility with heading styles

Make accessible text choices

• Use a minimum font size of 12pt.
• Use a sans-serif font i.e. one that does not have serifs - extending features at the end of strokes. Examples of sans serif fonts include Arial and Calibri. An example of a serif font to avoid is Times New Roman.
• Use the same font consistently.
• Avoid using italics, colour or underlining for emphasis – use bold instead.
• Left align text.
• Use Plain English
• Use the inbuilt tool to insert lists rather than creating them manually by positioning the text using spacing
• Try to avoid using text boxes as these can cause screen reading software to read text in the wrong order.
• Avoid using Word Art as this cannot be read by some screen reading software.

Use accessible links

Use link text rather than the full URL, unless the document is intended to be printed. In this case, provide the full URL, ideally shortened using a URL shortener. 

Check that link text clearly explains their destinations.

This is important because screen reader users often scan through lists of links in isolation, without the surrounding context to help them understand what the link is for.

You can check your links by reading the text of all the links on a page to yourself without paying attention to the surrounding content. 

If the link text makes sense in isolation and clearly explains where the link goes, it’s likely to be accessible.

If you’re using link text like ‘click here’ or ‘more information’ then you’re probably not meeting this requirement, as this does not describe where the link will go or what it’s for.

Link text should also be unique i.e. the same text should not be used on the same page for links to different places.

There’s also guidance explaining what good link text looks like if you’re not sure.

Use high contrast colour combinations

Having sufficient contrast makes text easier to read for everybody. For accessibility it is generally good practice to aim for high contrast colour combinations. The British Dyslexia Association recommends using dark coloured text on a light (not white) background. Text should have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1. To check contrast ratio:

1. Open this page: WCAG Color Contrast Checker 

2. Go to the Foreground Color section and click on the colour picker symbol
3. A box should pop up containing another colour picker symbol - click on the symbol. 
4. Move the circle to your required foreground colour and click to select
5. Repeat steps 2 - 4 for the Background Color section
6. The contrast ratio will be displayed to the right of the page. The higher this number the better, and remember it needs to be at least 4.5 for any text.

You can also select different colours from the palette and see their contrast ratio, which could be useful for choosing alternative colour combinations with a higher contrast ratio.

Alternatively, for help selecting colour combinations with sufficient contrast, the WebAIM Contrast Checker is recommended. 

Choose accessible images

Give images an appropriate text equivalent (Alt Text)

Images which convey information need either:

• An Alt Text label adding in image settings (Right click on the image > click on Edit Alt Text and enter a description in the text box), or:
• An adequate description in the surrounding text or the Notes field

For images which do not convey essential information, are purely decorative, or where the same information is covered in the body text, these should be marked as decorative in image settings (Right click on the image > click on Edit Alt text > tick 'Mark as decorative').

Avoid using images of text

Screen readers will not be able to read the text within the image. The information should be published as normal page text instead. This does not include logos and brand names - it’s okay for those to contain text.

Avoid placing text on top of images

Text should have a solid background. If you do place text on top of an image, ensure contrast between the text and the background is high.

Avoid using colour as the only way to convey information

For example, if the bars of a bar chart have different colours to identify them, they should also have different patterns, or text labels.

Keep table structure simple and avoid merging cells

Tables should be used for data, not to create document layout. Each table should have a header row set (click on the table > click on the Table Design tab on the top ribbon > check the Header Row box is ticked). See Microsoft Support on Creating accessible tables for further advice.

Limit document restrictions

For example, only use Read Only or Restrict Editing mode if you really need to. The fewer restrictions, the easier it will be for people to modify it so it meets their individual accessibility requirements and access it using assistive technology.