How to make Word documents accessible
What this guide is for
Most content can, and should, be published as a web page. Read why content should be published as a web page.
If you need to publish your content as a downloadable document, use this guide to help you create an accessible PDF using Microsoft Word.
We have created a checklist to help you make sure you have covered everything.
Why use Microsoft Word
We recommend using Word to create your accessible PDF because:
- It's a word processing application that is relatively easy to use and has good tools for creating effective reports, plans and other text-based documents
- It's a key tool available to Norfolk County Council (NCC) staff - and many other organisations and individuals use it too
- It has several tools and formatting functions that help users create accessible documents
Why publish as a PDF
We publish most documents on our websites as PDFs. This is because well-designed and accessible PDFs provide a better user experience than other file types:
- Website users do not need specific software to view PDFs - you can view a PDF for free in several different ways. If you publish a document as a different file type, website users might need to use specific software to view the document. It might be hard for them to find and download the software and they might even have to sign up for an account with the provider or pay a fee
- PDFs always display the same way, no matter what software you use to view them
Other applications and file types
We have separate guidance for PowerPoint slides and Excel spreadsheets. We explain when and how you should use these applications to create online content.
Find out when and how to accessibility check a PDF.