Screen readers and other assistive technologies also need to scan a document. Most of us scan a document or page quickly and look for big, bold text (headings) to get an idea of its structure and content.

read or navigate a document by using headings.

choose top-level headings or other heading levels and.

view a list of all of the headings on the page to navigate.

Microsoft Word provides pre-built heading styles to assist you.ĭocuments with a proper heading structure allow screen reader and other assistive technology users to: Headings aren't just a good idea - they're required for accessibility.

Accessible documents also make it easier for browsers to display them and are much easier to convert to various platforms or other formats.

One of the key ways to make Microsoft Word documents accessible is to use Word's built-in heading styles to format the document.Īccessible documents benefit everyone - not just those with disabilities! For example, accessible documents benefit cell phone and tablet users, as well as students with low bandwidth access.

Style pane in word 2016