How to make Word documents accessible

Use headings to organise your content so people can scan and understand your document quickly.

On this page

• Why headings matter in Word
• Add headings using Word heading styles
• Check your headings
• Accessibility standards

Why headings matter in Word

Headings and subheadings organise content into sections and subsections. They help people scan a document and find information quickly.

Screen readers and text-to-speech software announce headings and use them to help users navigate through content.

In Word, headings can also be used to automatically generate a Navigation Pane and an in-document table of contents. This allows readers to understand the structure of your document and jump directly to the sections they need.

For headings to work properly, they need to be created using Word’s built-in heading styles.

Headings should also be written in plain English so people can easily understand what each section contains. Learn more about how to write headings in content.

Add headings using Word heading styles

Using heading styles ensures assistive technologies can recognise the headings.

Apply heading styles correctly

You must use Word’s built-in heading styles to create headings. Simply changing the font size, colour, or making text bold does not create a heading that assistive technologies can recognise.

To apply a heading style:

1. Highlight the heading text.
2. Go to Home in the main menu.
3. Open the Styles gallery.
4. Select the appropriate heading style (for example, use Heading 1 for the main document title).

Structuring headings

When planning headings, you should:

• use clear, descriptive wording that explains what the section is about
• make the main document title Heading 1
• start section headings at Heading 2, like chapters in a book
• use headings in a logical order
• not skip heading levels (for example, do not jump from Heading 2 to Heading 4)

Try to keep the heading structure simple. If you need more than three heading levels (four at most), it may be a sign that the content structure is too complex.

Visually presenting headings

Good visual formatting helps sighted users distinguish headings from body text.

You should:

• use the same visual formatting for all headings at the same level
• ensure good colour contrast (for example, change Word’s default light blue heading colour to a darker colour)
• make headings visually prominent using larger text and bold formatting (as a guide, use at least size 14 for headings if body text is size 12)

Do not:

• use italics or block capitals, as they are harder to read
• underline headings, as this can make them look like links
• make different heading levels look identical

You can modify heading styles in the Styles gallery so visual formatting is applied consistently throughout the document.

If your headings:

• already have good visual formatting, modify the heading style by updating it to match formatting (Microsoft Support)
• do not have good visual formatting, modify the heading style manually (Microsoft Support)

Check your headings

Before publishing, check that headings are correctly applied and structured.

Verify individual headings

To check individual headings:

• place your cursor in the heading text
• confirm the correct style is highlighted in the Styles gallery

Use the Navigation Pane

The Navigation Pane shows all headings in order and makes it easy to spot structural problems.

To view the Navigation Pane:

1. Go to View.
2. In the Show section, select Navigation Pane.

Check for:

• a clear and logical heading structure
• headings that are descriptive and meaningful
• text incorrectly marked as a heading
• empty headings (headings without text)

Learn more about Microsoft Word's Navigation Pane.

Accessibility standards

Following this guidance helps more people access council content and supports meeting UK accessibility regulations, including PSBAR 2018.

If system or format limits stop you from following this guidance, contact the Communications and Marketing team before publishing.