Word

Heading Styles

Headings are used to visually and semantically structure information and establish relationships between topics and their subsections. Use headings in logical order; don’t skip levels.

The Styles tool in the Home ribbon must be used to meet accessibility best practices related to structural hierarchy, color contrast, and more. Modifying fonts, colors, sizes, spacing, or styles will likely result in a document no longer meeting accessibility standards.

To apply headings:

1. Select the text you want to make into a heading.
2. From the Home ribbon, choose the appropriate heading level from the Styles group that fits the topical organization of your content.
3. Start with Heading 1 for the title.

Lists

Use numbered lists when the order of items is important. Use bulleted lists when the order of items isn’t important.

To create lists: 

1. Select the text you want to make into a list.
2. From the Home ribbon, in the Paragraph group, select the Numbering tool or the Bullets tool.

Tables

Tables should be used to convey data or simple relationships. Don’t use tables for layout solutions or to replicate design grids.
To create tables: 

1. From the Insert ribbon, select Table, and choose Insert Table; don’t draw tables.
2. Select the table, and under the Table Design tab, make sure Header Row and First Column options are selected. Add clearly identified column headers. Don’t use complex headers or cells; if you have a complex table, consider separating it into smaller simple tables.
3. Avoid merging and splitting cells.
4. Add a title using captions. Under the References tab, select Insert Caption

Images

Images should be used sparingly to convey meaningful information. Always wrap images in line with text. Avoid using shapes or Smart Art.

To add alt text to an image:

1. Select the image and right-click.
2. Choose View Alt Text and enter your description in the detail section of the panel.

Alt text tips:

• Alt text should briefly describe the image, be grammatically correct, and be limited to one to two sentences.
• Mark images like borders, decoration, and accents as decorative.
• Avoid using text in images as the sole method of conveying important information. If you must use text in an image, repeat the text in the document.

Document Properties

To add your document title and author name to the file:

1. Select File, then Info.
2. Enter details under Properties on the right-side panel.
   1. The title should closely match the H1 and the document file name.
   2. Multiple authors can be listed.

Check Accessibility

The Word Accessibility Assistant doesn’t check for everything and isn’t a substitute for understanding best practices. Use the Accessibility Checker to help you as you develop your content. Use a CITL checklist to make sure you are meeting best practices.

To check accessibility: 

1. From the Review tab, select Check Accessibility.
2. The right-side panel will open and show you any issues to address

Saving to PDF

There are multiple ways to create PDFs using Word. The best practice is not using the export option or use Print to PDF option. These options will create an unstructured document. Remember to double check you your PDF. Additional edits may be needed in the PDF version.

To save to PDF:

1. Select the Acrobat tab.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Make sure Create Bookmarks, Add Links, and Enable Accessibility and Reflow with tagged PDF are all checked.
4. Select OK.
5. In the Acrobat tab, select Create PDF.