Digital accessibility - getting started with creating accessible content

Structure is the way content is organised in documents and presentations.

Creating a clear structure, with headings and subheadings, will help your audience to navigate around your documents with ease.

Doing this will help everyone to find relevant content more easily, but especially those who rely on screenreaders or keyboard navigation.

Adding structure in Microsoft Word

Use the Styles section in the Ribbon toolbar to apply headings and subheadings. 

Adding structure in Microsoft PowerPoint 

Make sure each slide in your presentation has a title and use the Reading Order pane to check how the slides will be read out.

How to check your document

In Microsoft Office products (Word, PowerPoint etc) there are useful Accessibility Checkers you can use to find and fix common accessibility issues. These are found in the Review tab above the Ribbon toolbar.

How you use colour and contrast can significantly affect the accessibility of your content, especially for those with visual impairments.

Top tips for using colour

• When using colour for text, ensure good contrast between the text colour and the background. Good contrast makes it easier to see the text, especially when there’s too much light.
• Don’t use colour alone to convey meaning. In graphs and charts add labels or borders, and in body text use bold to emphasise a word or sentence.
• Microsoft Word and PowerPoint have colour contrast options you can use to help.

Using images is a great way to add interest to your documents and presentations but it is essential to add alternative text (alt-text) for those who can’t see them.

Alt-text is a short description that describes what is happening and sits in the metadata behind the image. The Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) has published simple guidance on writing alt text. 

How to add alt text

Adding alt-text to your images is easy

1. Once you’ve added your image, right click on it
2. Select the View Alt-text option.
3. Add in your description. 

Images used for visual reasons only can be marked as decorative – there’s usually a box you can tick for this.

Links are an excellent way of signposting to further information.

When adding links to your documents, make sure these are meaningful and descriptive so people know where you’re pointing them to before they click on them.

Instead of 'click here' or listing the full web address, instead link the name of the resource or document. 

How to add links

1. Use Ctrl + K on your keyboard, or right-click and select Link (Command + K on Mac).
2. Enter your Display text and URL
   e.g. Display text: 'University of Nottingham - Moodle' and URL: 'https://moodle.nottingham.ac.uk/'

It's good practice to set links to open in the same window. This makes it easier for people to go back to the previous page or document.

When creating content, always keep your audience in mind.

What is Plain Language?

Plain Language is using clear, uncomplicated language to communicate with your audience. 

To do this: 

• keep sentences short and concise
• avoid using jargon or unexplained acronyms
• avoid overly complicated language

This will help will make your work more readable and help people to understand more easily.

Formatting your writing

The way you format your text has an impact on how accessible it is. 

To help improve the readability of your text:

• use an easy to read and clear font and appropriate size
• left-align text
• use numbered or bulleted lists to create white space

Doing these simple things will all help to make your text easy to understand. 

Tables are a great way of presenting information, but they can be challenging for people using assistive technologies if they’re not created well.

When creating tables make sure they have a header row, a caption, and no merged, split or empty cells. This will help people navigate them and access information more easily.

Tables should be used for presenting data only and not for formatting or page layout.