Document accessibility

Last updated:

June 26, 2026

Increase the accessibility of your Microsoft and Google files, PDFs, and Adobe InDesign documents, as well as email communications.

Learn the fundamentals

There are common building blocks that support digital accessibility across all content types. This fundamentals guide gives you the basics to help you get started.

Digital accessibility fundamentals

Best practices by platform

Word documents

Use uniform and hierarchical headings: How to add headings to a Word document
Use simple tables to display data or text information; avoid using tables only for visual layout
Write link text that describes the destination of the link; avoid displaying full URLs
Use the editing toolbar to create numbered or bulleted lists: How to create a bulleted or numbered list
Use Microsoft Word’s built-in accessibility checker

Learn more about accessible Word documents.

PowerPoint presentations

Give each slide a unique title
Use sans serif fonts like Red Hat or Arial
Avoid content-heavy slides and use at least 1.5 line spacing
Include alternative text descriptions on all images
Use strong contrast between text and background colors
Make sure slide content can be read in the correct order
Download UW-branded PowerPoint templates

Learn more about accessible PowerPoint presentations.

Google Docs and Slides

Use uniform and hierarchical headings: How to add headings to a Google Doc
Use simple tables to display data or text information; avoid using tables only for visual layout
Write link text that describes the destination of the link; avoid displaying full URLs
Use the editing toolbar to create numbered or bulleted lists: How to add a numbered list or bulleted list
Use Grackle to check accessibility

Learn more about how to make your Google document or presentation more accessible.

PDF documents

Start with an accessible document before exporting to PDF.
Read WebAIM’s guide or Adobe’s guide on PDF accessibility.
Scanned images of text are not accessible.
- If you must use a scanned document, it should not have highlights, underlines, binding shadows or clipped lines.
- Scanned PDFs cannot be tagged unless you use optical character recognition (OCR) to recognize text first.

For video tutorials on how to tag PDFs for accessibility, take the course Creating Accessible PDFs on LinkedIn Learning.

Adobe InDesign files

Use live text and use styles to tag: Paragraphs, characters, objects
Logical reading order: Control the stacking order of elements and the order of the articles
Graphics: Add alt text to images, “artifact” decorative items, and anchor captions, sidebars, decorative items, and frames
Tables: Update “header and footer setup” to “repeat header row” for the top row of a table
Test your work: Make PDFs as you design to be sure the content is flowing correctly

For more information, read Adobe InDesign’s accessibility guidance.

Email communications

Write short, scannable paragraphs
Use plain language
Incorporate bullet points with actionable content
Use clear calls-to-action
Use descriptive link text
Write alt text for images
Use sans serif fonts that are 12 pt or larger in size
Ensure sufficient color contrast
Caption and transcribe your videos
Write clear and concise subject lines

Learn more about crafting accessible emails.

Automated and manual testing

When creating documents in Microsoft Office 365, Google, or Adobe Acrobat, you can use automated accessibility checkers to begin making your content more accessible. While automated testing is a great first step, manual testing is always needed to determine whether a document is accessible.

In this guide, learn how to check your documents for accessibility using both automated checkers and manual testing processes.

Testing document accessibility guide