Microsoft Word has a number of powerful accessibility features. Making the most of those features does sometimes require a shift in habits or processes.
Major Points To Keep In Mind
- Select simple san serif fonts (e.g. Arial, Verdana, Calibri, Helvetica) to increase readability and default to 12-14 pt font
- Format text appropriately with titles, headings, and other styles
- Use the list and bullet features to organize content
- Add alternative text to images, graphs, and figures
- Add column header rows in tables and avoid blank rows or columns
- Ensure hyperlinked text is descriptive
- Provide transcripts or captions for embedded audio and video
- Use the built in accessibility checker
Other Points To Keep In Mind
- Provide a table of contents for longer documents
- Ensure sufficient color contrast between content and background
- Avoid using color as the only way to convey meaning. Check for this by asking if the graphic would make sense in black and white.
- Avoid using watermarks