Creating accessible Microsoft Word documents

It’s important to make Word documents accessible to everyone, even if you're using them internally.

Steps to take

1. Use the plain language checklist
2. Make your content legible
3. Structure your document
4. Use descriptive hyperlinks
5. Add alternative text to visual content
6. Make tables accessible
7. Run Microsoft's Accessibility Checker in your document to review your work

Make your content legible

Some text is easier for people to read. Follow these tips to improve the readability of your digital content: 

• Depending on the font you choose, use a size 12 point or larger
• Use a sans serif font like BC Sans, Arial or Calibri as they're easier to read especially on screens. Serifs are small decorative strokes on the ends of letters in some fonts (like Times New Roman). Sans serif fonts do not have these extra strokes, which makes them easier to read
• Use at least 1.5 line spacing 
• Do not write in all capital letters (all caps) unless using acronyms
• When emphasizing text:
  • Only use bold to emphasize a few words or a short sentence, do not bold an entire paragraph
  • Avoid italics, they're difficult to read
  • Only underline text if it's a hyperlink
• When using a text colour other than black, test the colour contrast by using a tool like WebAIM’s Colour Contrast Checker to make sure people can easily see and read it
• Do not rely on colour alone to convey meaning. For example, do not use only red text to indicate something is mandatory. Always include another visual cue, like an asterisk, to make the meaning clear

Structure your document

Headings

People and assistive technologies scan written content for headings. Headings provide context for people to decide if information is relevant to them or not.

• Use a formatted title at the start of your document. Do this by selecting 'Title' in the 'Styles' tab
• Break content into manageable chunks using headings and sub-headings. Heading act like a table of contents by organizing information into a clear and logical order. Headings must go in order and never skip a level:
  • New topics should use 'Heading 1 (H1)'​
  • Subtopics within a section can be divided using 'Heading 2 (H2)'. Subtopics below H2 should use 'Heading 3 (H3)'
  • Avoid using heading levels 5 and beyond
• Write short headings that describe the content clearly
• Use sentence case for headings (start with a capital letter, the rest should be lower case

Lists

Lists help people scan content quickly, but it’s important to use Word’s built-in list tool when creating them. The list tool adds hidden structure that screen readers rely on to recognize and navigate lists. Visual symbols like hyphens or manually inserted bullets do not create real list structure and are read as plain text.

• Use bulleted lists for grouped information that doesn’t require order
• Only use numbered lists if you need to specify the number of items in the list or the order of the items is important

Use descriptive hyperlinks

Hyperlink key words that describes where the link goes. For example: 

• Do not write: Click here for resources and guides on accessible digital content
• Instead write: Learn how to create accessible digital content

Watch Microsoft’s video on creating accessible links (external link).

Add alternative text to visual content

Visual content includes graphics, images, pictures, SmartArt, shapes, groups, charts and embedded objects.

Alternative text (alt text) helps people who cannot see the visual content understand its context. If you're not sure what to write, think about how you would describe the image to someone over the phone.

To add alt text:

• Right click on the image
• Select ‘View Alt Text’
• Write a short description of the image (5 to 10 words)

If the image you're using does not convey any additional information and is purely decorative. You may select the ‘Mark as decorative’ check box.

To find all instances of missing alt text in your document run Microsoft's Accessibility Checker.

Watch Microsoft’s video on improving accessibility with alt text (external link).

Make tables accessible

Tables in Word should only be used for tabular data, not for layout or spacing. Using them correctly ensures screen readers can interpret your content clearly.

Use table headers to identify rows and columns

Header rows help screen readers describe the table content correctly. To add a header row:

1. Click anywhere in your table
2. Go to 'Table Design'
3. Check 'Header Row'

Use a simple table structure. Word tables work best when they’re a simple rectangle with no gaps or broken areas. This means every row has the same number of columns, and there are no merged or split cells inside the table. Screen readers move through tables by counting cells. If a table has merged cells, split cells, blank rows or columns, or nested tables, it may lose count and stop reading the table correctly. To make sure your table is simple:

1. Avoid merged or split cells, or mini-tables inside the main table
2. Check for merged cells by clicking anywhere in your table then go to Layout > Merge Cells. If the button is highlighted, fix the merges
3. If you need spacing, place it outside the table. Remove any blank rows or columns
4. Run Microsoft's Accessibility Checker to make sure you didn't miss anything

Unlike images, tables in Word rarely need alt text. If the table is extremely complex it may need a summary in alt text.

Watch Microsoft’s videos on creating accessible tables in Word (external link).

Run Microsoft's Accessibility Checker

Microsoft provides an Accessibility Checker to help you identify issues. This is meant to support you, not to replace your own accessibility check. Once you have followed the steps outlined on this page, use the Accessibility Checker for a quick review.

Publishing on the web

Documents can be difficult to view on mobile devices. Do not only publish content in a Word document on the web, it should also be available in HTML.

Resources

• Review Microsoft guide on making Word documents more accessible (external link)
• Watch Microsoft’s videos on creating accessible Word documents (external link)