How to make Word documents accessible

Diagrams include flowcharts, process maps, structure charts and infographics. They use images and text to show how things work or are organised.

Diagrams often use layout, colour, lines and arrows to convey meaning. Doing this in a logical and consistent way can help people engage with and understand complex information.

However, you must make your diagram accessible so people with visual impairments don't miss out on the important information it shows.

Government Digital Service (GDS) advice on diagrams says:

'Only use a diagram if it makes the content clearer, or summarises a large amount of information. Diagrams need to be clear and easy to understand.'

How to make diagrams accessible in Word

Design

When you design your diagram:

• Keep it simple - try to stick to one idea per diagram
• Make all text horizontal
• Make sure the reading order is left to right and top to bottom
• Make it clear where the starting point is if it has one
• Avoid overlapping arrows or lines
• Use simple shapes - and as few different types as possible

Colour

If you use colour to convey meaning, you must also use text, shapes or patterns to ensure that people who find it difficult to see or differentiate between colours can still understand it.

You must also make sure any colour combinations you use meet colour contrast requirements.

Formatting

Text and decorative images

Simple diagrams can be fairly easy to make accessible if they have:

• Text - this must be formatted as text rather than text in an image
• Decorative images only - these are images that don't add information to the diagram
• No text boxes
• A clear, left to right and top to bottom reading order

For example, the 'How to grow turnips' diagram in our accessible Word document example (Word doc) [1MB] is formatted using text and arrow images. It has a left to right and top to bottom reading order. The arrow images correspond with the reading order, so they don't add information to the diagram.

All we did to make this diagram accessible was mark the arrow images as decorative and make sure they were not inline with the text. Then a screen reader would read out the text from left to right and top to bottom, and ignore the decorative images.

However, consider whether you need to use a simple diagram like this at all. The information would be more accessible to some users as a numbered list.

Visit our images accessibility page to find out how to decide if an image is informative or decorative, and how to mark images as decorative in Word.

A single, flat image with a text description

All other diagrams must be formatted as a single, flat image with a text description.

Start by making sure that the diagram is formatted as a single, flat image. To do this, you may need to:

• Copy the diagram and paste it back into your document as an image (Microsoft Support website); or
• Save the diagram as an image, then insert it into your document; or
• Take a screenshot of the diagram, then paste or insert it into your document

You must make sure the image is good quality, so it remains clear and easy to use when a user zooms in up to 400%.

Then, you must provide all the information the diagram image shows in text format. Follow the 'How to provide a text description' advice on our images accessibility page.

Diagram alternatives

If you find it difficult to make your diagram accessible, consider these alternatives:

• Present information using clear structured text, including things like headings and bullet points etc. For example, like the text under the diagram on this accessible procurement flowchart page
• Present ordered information or instructions as a numbered list
• Present visual information using video - follow our video and audio accessibility guide.