When making digital content accessible, we need to consider all the different groups of people who may encounter the content. Often, by making textual content accessible for those who use screen readers, we can go a long way towards making the content accessible for all. A screen reader is an extra program on your computer or phone for those with visual impairments that attempts to read the content on the screen out loud. If we make the content that will appear on the screen accessible, there will be fewer barriers for all. Below are several quick tips for doing this in Microsoft Word.
Headings
Headings have a large and bold font. In Word, use Heading 1, 2, 3, etc., in the Styles section on the home tab to format headings. This formatting makes the content navigable by screen readers and saves time by automatically formatting the selected text.
Fonts
Using Arial in 14-point size increases readability on computer screens and mobile devices. Over 90% of vision issues are related to limited sight or partial vision loss. Generally, using a sans-serif font and increasing the type size can help these users.
Alternative Text
Alternative text ("alt text" for short) makes images in documents accessible by adding a textual description for pictures, tables, charts, or any visual imagery. For example, a picture of Harry Truman should have the alt text "Harry Truman." If it is a chart, the alt text might need to be more descriptive of the data and trends. The key is to think critically about what information a user would gather from the visual depiction. Alt text also stays intact when exported to HTML or PDF.
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