Creating accessible documents means that people who have visual impairments, people who are blind, and people with learning disabilities can access your document.
Whether your end product is a word document or a PDF, there are a few simple practices that will help ensure accessibility to a wider audience. Generally speaking, it’s much easier to create a document with accessibility in mind then it is to “fix” an inaccessible document.
Headings & Title
Headings create a hierarchy in the document that a screen reader can follow.
You need to set a default document title for a screen reader to be able to scan and read out loud to its user.
Hyperlinks
The Hyperlinks need to have a clearly defined label of the destination of the link so that a screen reader is able to read them out loud when scanning the document.
Tables
There needs to be clear table structures and headers for the screen reader to be able to scan the document.
Alt Text
This allows the screen reader to scan a description of tables, figures, or images that may be on the document.
Lists
The built-in formatting tools of Word make it easier for the screen reader to scan the document.
Color Contrast
It is important for the document to not use color to convey information because people who are blind, colorblind or who have low vision can miss the information conveyed with the color used.