Updates coming
Imagine opening a newspaper, and there are no headings, nothing to tell you what the images are, and instead of columns, the paragraphs appear to be randomly scattered across the page. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to read with any comprehension. When documents lack structure, alt text, and other elements that increase legibility, this is what the experience could be like for anyone using assistive technology. Luckily, there are tools and strategies for creating documents that we all can access.
Headings
“Headings communicate the organization of the content on the page. Web browsers, plug-ins, and assistive technologies can use them to provide in-page navigation.” (W3C)
In most document creation programs, headings are tagged with built-in styles. The built-in styles must be used – changing the font weight, color, or size will not signal to a screen reader that the text is a heading.
Headings should be structured in a logical order that conveys hierarchy. Do not skip heading levels.
- Heading 1 is usually the most important heading and should be the title of your document.
- Heading 2 is nested under heading 1
- Heading 3 is nested under heading 2
How to Add Heading Structure
Programs such as Word, PowerPoint, Google Docs, and InDesign include a ‘Styles’ tool for tagging headings. Typically, you will highlight the text, then use the Styles menu to assign a heading level.
Microsoft video showing how to use Headings in Word
Document showing how to add headings in a Google Doc
Alternative Text
If you are using images or graphics in your document, remember to add alt text. This means either writing a short description of the image or designating the image as decorative.
For more details on alt text, please visit the Alternative Text page.
Hyperlinks
Many digital documents include hyperlinks. To increase accessibility of hyperlinks, they should be meaningful. A meaningful hyperlink provides a description of the item that you are linking to. Along those lines, a URL is often not screen-reader-friendly because it contains strings of letters, numbers, and other characters. Human-readable text is preferred.
Tables
If you include a table in your document, designate row and column headers.
Use an Accessibility Checker
Most programs have a built-in accessibility checker. You can use these to identify any components of your document that need accessibility adjustments.
Using the Accessibility Checker in Office
What about PDFs?
A guiding principle for creating accessible PDFs is to do as much as possible in the original document (Word, PowerPoint, InDesign, etc.). When you convert your document to a PDF, it will retain your accessible features.