These ten checks catch the most common problems that stop people using screen readers, magnifiers or other tools from reading a document. You don’t need training or special software, and most take under a minute. Go through them with the document open, before you post or send it.
There’s a two-page printable version: the free accessible document quick checklist (PDF). The checks are the same; this page has more of the why.
Structure
1. Use heading styles for headings
Bold or bigger text on its own isn’t a heading. Screen reader users jump from heading to heading to find their place, the way you scan a page by eye, and they can only do that if the headings are real.
Use Heading 1 for the document title, then Heading 2 for sections and Heading 3 for sections inside those, without skipping a level.
- Word: Home tab, Styles.
- Google Docs: the “Normal text” menu on the toolbar.
Write headings that say what’s in the section. “Decisions needed” tells a reader more than “Other business”.
2. Use the list buttons for lists
Typed dashes or numbers read as ordinary text. A real list is announced as a list, with how many items it has, so a listener knows how much is coming.
- Word: Home tab, Bullets or Numbering.
- Google Docs: the list buttons on the toolbar.
Use numbers when the order matters, and bullets when it doesn’t.
3. Don’t use blank lines, spaces or tabs to push things around
A screen reader reads each blank line aloud as “blank”. Five in a row sound like the document has broken. Use paragraph spacing or a page break instead.
Keep text out of text boxes, and set pictures to “In line with text”. Anything floating can be read out of order, or not at all.
- Word: the ¶ button on the Home tab shows hidden blank lines.
- Google Docs: Format, Line & paragraph spacing.
Pictures, links and tables
4. Describe every picture that carries meaning
Write alt text that says what the picture tells the reader, in a sentence or two. Don’t start with “Image of”: screen readers already say it’s an image. If a picture is only decoration, Word lets you mark it as decorative so it’s skipped.
- Word: right-click the picture, Edit Alt Text.
- Google Docs: select the picture, Image options, Alt text.
If Word suggests alt text for you, read it before you keep it. It describes what’s in the picture, not why it’s there.
5. Make link text say where it goes
“Library hours” works. “Click here” and long web addresses don’t. Screen reader users often pull up a list of every link in a document, with nothing around them, and ten links called “click here” tell them nothing.
- Word and Google Docs: select the words, then Insert, Link.
Then click each link to make sure it goes where it says, and that people outside your organization can open it.
6. Keep tables simple, and mark the header row
Use tables only for data, never to lay out a page. Don’t merge or split cells, and don’t add empty rows for spacing. A screen reader reads a table cell by cell, and can announce each cell’s column heading only if it knows which row holds the headings.
- Word: click in the table, Table Design tab, tick Header Row.
- Google Docs: right-click the top row, Pin header row.
Color
7. Never rely on color alone
“Items in red are overdue” doesn’t work for someone who can’t see red, or for a black-and-white printout. Add a word or a symbol as well: “Overdue”, not just red.
8. Keep text dark on light, or light on dark
Pale grey text, and text over pictures, are hard to read. Plain black on white is always safe.
If you pick your own colors, check them with WebAIM’s free contrast checker. Normal text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 with its background. Large text (18 point, or 14 point bold) needs at least 3 to 1.
Before you share
9. Set the title and language, then run the checker
The document title is what a screen reader announces when the file opens. It’s separate from the file name.
- Word: File, Info, Properties, Advanced Properties, Title (on a Mac: File, Properties, Title). Set the language with Review, Language, Set Proofing Language (on a Mac: Tools, Language).
- Google Docs: the file name becomes the title, and the language is under File, Language.
Then run the checker. In Word: Review, Check Accessibility. Fix what it finds and run it again. A clean result is a good sign, not a guarantee: the checker can’t tell whether your alt text makes sense or your headings are in the right order. Google Docs has no built-in checker, so go through this list by hand.
10. Share the original, or a tagged PDF. Never a scan.
A scanned page is a picture of text, and a screen reader gets nothing from it.
- Word on Windows: File, Save As, PDF, Options, tick “Document structure tags for accessibility”.
- Word on a Mac: File, Save As, PDF, “Best for electronic distribution and accessibility”. This sends the file to a Microsoft online service.
- Google Docs: File, Download, PDF. If your document has tables, download it as Word and make the PDF from Word instead: Google Docs’ PDFs don’t reliably mark table headers.
Never use Print to make a PDF. It throws away the headings and tags.
Beyond the ten
- Charts: give the key finding in the text, and put the numbers in a table under the chart. Alt text like “bar chart” tells nobody anything.
- Plain words: spell out abbreviations the first time, keep paragraphs short, and put actions and deadlines where they can’t be missed.
- The file people get: if you send a PDF, open the PDF and check it, not just the Word file it came from.
- Keep the source: fix problems in the Word or Google Docs file and export again, rather than patching the PDF.
Templates with these checks built in
The free checklist is a two-page PDF to keep by your desk. Our template kits for meetings, notices and reports start you off with the headings, lists, tables, title and language these checks ask for.