Why Accessibility Matters in Document Creation
Accessibility in document creation is both a legal obligation and a practical imperative. In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 places obligations on organisations to make reasonable adjustments to ensure people with disabilities can access information. For public sector organisations, the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 add specific requirements for digital content. Beyond legal compliance, approximately 1 in 5 people in the UK have some form of disability — creating accessible documents is simply the practice of creating documents that work for everyone.
Microsoft Office’s accessibility features address the needs of users with visual impairments (who may use screen readers or require high contrast), cognitive differences (who benefit from clear structure and consistent formatting), and motor impairments (who may rely on keyboard-only navigation). This guide covers the practical steps for creating accessible documents in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint using Office 2024 Professional Plus, Office 2021 Professional Plus, and Office 2019 Professional Plus.
The Accessibility Checker
Every Office application includes an Accessibility Checker that analyses your document and identifies specific accessibility issues with guidance on how to fix them. Use it as a quality check before finalising any document intended for broad distribution.
Running the Checker
- In Word, Excel, or PowerPoint: Review > Check Accessibility
- Or: File > Info > Check for Issues > Check Accessibility
The Accessibility pane opens on the right, listing issues in three categories:
- Errors — These will cause significant difficulties for assistive technology users. Examples: images with no alt text, tables with no header row, documents with no title.
- Warnings — These may cause problems depending on the assistive technology or settings. Examples: images with vague alt text, hyperlinks with generic link text like “click here”.
- Intelligent Services Tips — Suggestions that may improve accessibility even if not technically required. Examples: objects that may be difficult to read in high contrast mode.
Click any issue in the pane to jump to the relevant part of the document with an explanation and instructions for fixing it. In Office 2024, the Accessibility Checker also provides automatic fix options for many common issues — a significant time saver for remediating existing documents.
Accessible Word Documents
Heading Structure
Screen readers use heading structure to navigate long documents — they can jump directly from heading to heading, or pull up a list of all headings for navigation. Without proper heading structure, screen reader users must read the entire document linearly, making navigation of long documents extremely tedious.
Use Word’s built-in heading styles (Heading 1, 2, 3) in logical order — never skip from Heading 1 to Heading 3. Do not apply heading styles purely for visual formatting; only use them for actual structural headings. If you want a specific visual appearance for non-heading text, create a custom style rather than applying Heading 2 to make text look bigger.
Document Title
The document title is read by screen readers when the file is opened. Set it in File > Info > Properties > Title (in the right panel). A blank title is an Accessibility Error — it means screen reader users hear the filename rather than a meaningful title when opening the document.
Alternative Text for Images
Every image, chart, SmartArt, and shape that conveys information must have alternative text (alt text) describing what it shows. Screen readers read the alt text to users who cannot see the image. To add alt text:
- Right-click the image.
- Select Edit Alt Text.
- Type a concise but complete description of the image content and purpose.
Write alt text that describes what the image shows and why it is there — not “image” or “photo” but “Bar chart showing quarterly sales growth by region, with Northern England highest at 23% in Q3”. For purely decorative images with no informational content, tick Mark as decorative. Screen readers skip decorative images entirely, avoiding noise.
Table Accessibility
Tables must have a properly defined header row so screen readers can announce “Column: Product Name” as they navigate cells. In Word:
- Click anywhere in the table.
- Go to Table Design > Header Row to toggle the header row formatting.
- Right-click the first row, select Table Properties > Row tab, and tick Repeat as header row at the top of each page.
Avoid complex nested tables or merged cells where possible — these create navigation confusion for screen readers. If a table layout is required purely for visual presentation rather than tabular data, consider whether it can be replaced with properly formatted paragraphs and columns.
Meaningful Hyperlink Text
Links that say “click here” or “read more” are inaccessible because screen readers can present a list of all links in the document, and a list of “click here, click here, read more, click here” is meaningless. Write hyperlink text that describes the destination or purpose: “Download the HMRC expense guidelines PDF” rather than “click here for more information”.
To edit existing hyperlink text, right-click the link and select Edit Hyperlink. Modify the Text to display field to something descriptive.
Reading Order and Text Boxes
Floating text boxes and images positioned in front of or behind text create reading order problems for screen readers, which may encounter the content in an unexpected sequence. Wherever possible, use inline content (images set to In Line With Text) rather than floating objects. When floating objects are necessary, verify the reading order via the Selection Pane (Home > Arrange > Selection Pane or View > Selection Pane). Items at the top of the Selection Pane list are read last by screen readers; drag to reorder.
Colour and Contrast
Do not use colour as the only means of conveying information — users with colour blindness cannot distinguish red/green indicators, for example. Always supplement colour coding with text labels, patterns, or symbols. For body text, maintain a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 between text and background colours. Use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) contrast checker tools available online to verify any colour combinations used in documents.
Accessible Excel Workbooks
Descriptive Sheet Names
Default sheet names (Sheet1, Sheet2, Sheet3) provide no context. Rename all sheets with meaningful names via the double-click or right-click menu. Screen readers announce sheet names when navigating between them.
Cell and Range Names
Named ranges and named cells are read by screen readers instead of the cell address. A screen reader saying “Annual Budget Total” is far more useful than “Cell G47”. Name important cells via the Name Box or Formulas > Name Manager.
Table Headers in Excel
Format data ranges as proper Excel Tables (Insert > Table) and ensure the “My table has headers” option is ticked. Excel tables provide structural meaning that screen readers can interpret, announcing column names as users navigate within the table.
Alt Text for Charts
Excel charts require alt text just as Word images do. Right-click the chart, select Edit Alt Text, and write a description that conveys the key insight: “Line chart showing declining costs from £45,000 in January to £31,000 in June 2026” — not “sales chart”.
Avoiding Merged Cells
Merged cells in spreadsheets cause significant navigation problems for screen readers and keyboard users. Replace merged header cells with centred-across-selection formatting: select the cells, press Ctrl + 1, go to the Alignment tab, and in Horizontal choose “Center Across Selection” instead of merging. The visual result is identical but the cell structure remains accessible.
Accessible PowerPoint Presentations
Reading Order
PowerPoint slides can have content added in any order, and the tab order (which determines screen reader reading order) reflects the order in which objects were added — not their visual position. Always check and correct reading order via the Selection Pane for any slide with multiple objects. Reorder objects to reflect the logical reading sequence: title first, then body content, then supplementary elements.
Slide Titles
Every slide must have a unique title text box using the Title placeholder from the slide layout — not a plain text box styled to look like a title. Screen readers announce slide titles for navigation. Duplicate titles (e.g., multiple slides titled “Overview”) make navigation confusing. Unique, descriptive slide titles are both an accessibility requirement and good presentation practice.
Text in Images and Shapes
Text placed as part of an image or embedded in a shape that does not use a text box is not readable by screen readers. Always use actual text objects for text content. If an image contains text (a photograph of a sign, a screenshot of a form), describe the text content in the alt text.
Accessible Slide Designs
Avoid slides that rely entirely on visual layout to convey information — flowcharts built from shapes and connectors, for example, are entirely opaque to screen readers. Supplement complex visual diagrams with a text description on the same slide (set to very small text if visual space is a concern) or in the speaker notes.
Creating Accessible PDFs from Office Documents
When saving as PDF from Word or PowerPoint, the accessibility features of the source document carry over to the PDF — but only if you use the correct export settings:
- Go to File > Save As and select PDF format.
- Click Options.
- Ensure Document structure tags for accessibility is ticked.
- Click OK and save.
Without the document structure tags, the PDF is effectively an image-only document with no structural information for screen readers to interpret. With them, the heading structure, alt text, table headers, and reading order from the source document are preserved in the PDF.
Using the Immersive Reader for Cognitive Accessibility
Microsoft Word and OneNote include the Immersive Reader (View > Immersive Reader), a full-screen reading mode designed to support users with dyslexia, reading difficulties, or attention difficulties. It offers:
- Adjustable text spacing, font size, and column width
- Page colour customisation (reducing glare for users sensitive to bright screens)
- Syllable highlighting — visually separating syllables within words
- Read Aloud — text-to-speech narration with word-level highlighting as each word is spoken
- Focus Mode — highlighting one line, sentence, or paragraph at a time
While the Immersive Reader does not change the document itself, ensuring documents are structured with headings, clear paragraph breaks, plain language, and sufficient white space makes them more effective in Immersive Reader mode and easier to read for all audiences, not just those with specific accessibility needs.
Building accessibility into document creation from the start adds minimal time to the production process and ensures that the content you create is genuinely usable by the widest possible audience. The tools are all there in Office 2024 — the Accessibility Checker makes it easy to identify and address issues before they reach your readers.
Accessibility for Different Document Types
Accessible Emails in Outlook
The same principles that apply to Word documents apply to email composition. In Outlook, the Accessibility Checker is available in the compose window via Options > Check Accessibility. Key practices for accessible emails: use a readable sans-serif font at 11pt or larger; avoid using colour alone to convey important information; add alt text to any inline images; use meaningful hyperlink text rather than raw URLs; avoid using tables for layout purposes; write a clear, descriptive subject line that conveys the email’s purpose.
Accessible Spreadsheets for External Sharing
When sharing Excel workbooks with external parties who may have accessibility needs, the most critical steps are: ensure all charts have alt text, avoid merged cells, name all sheets meaningfully, use formal Excel Tables for data ranges, and run the Accessibility Checker before distribution. For workbooks converted to PDF for distribution, use the “Document structure tags for accessibility” option in the export settings as with Word documents.
Accessible Presentations for Live Delivery
For presentations delivered live to an audience that may include people with visual impairments, several adjustments improve the experience: use the built-in Subtitle feature (Slide Show > Always Use Subtitles) to display live captions on screen; use Presenter View so speaker notes are visible on the presenter’s screen without being shown to the audience (allowing detailed notes that can be read aloud for context); avoid slide transitions that flash rapidly (which may trigger photosensitive responses); and share the presentation file with attendees in advance so screen reader users can navigate the content independently.
UK Legal Context for Document Accessibility
For UK organisations, the relevant accessibility requirements depend on the sector and document type. Public sector bodies must comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA for digital content under the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018. Private organisations have obligations under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to ensure disabled people can access information and services. The “reasonable adjustment” standard is contextual — what is reasonable for a large organisation may differ from what is reasonable for a sole trader — but the direction of travel is clear: accessible by default is increasingly the expected standard rather than an optional enhancement. Building accessibility practices into document creation workflows using Office’s built-in tools costs little in time or money and delivers significant benefits for the widest possible audience.
