Use the essential practices below for all your outputs, including Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, blog posts and emails.

Headings make text stand out and help people scan your document - but don't create them manually by using bold, underlining or making text bigger! 

Use the heading styles offered by the software you're using - in Word the Styles are in the Home menu. 

• If you don't like the design of a heading, edit it
• This applies the formatting everywhere the style is used in your document
• Create an automated table of contents from headings in Word: find Table of Contents in the References menu.

Headings are an essential navigation aid for blind or low vision people, who may use screen reader software to read out headings and quickly find topics of interest.

Apply heading styles in the correct order by their number, 'nesting' them sequentially.

• Title
• Heading 1: main content heading 
  
• Heading 2
• Heading 3
• Heading 2
  
• Heading 2

This will make sure it's accessible by screen reader software. To check, see if you can select, copy and paste your text into another location.

Link text (text that links to a web address) should describe its destination. It needs to make sense when read out of context.

• Don't write: "Click here to visit the University of Kent website" 
• Write: "Visit the University of Kent website"

Link text should be unique on the page - unless the links go to the same destination. Don't have multiple 'Contact us' links going to contact details for different teams.

Imagine using screen reader software to listen to all the links read aloud, out of context from their surrounding text. Do they make sense?

In most cases, QR codes should be used in print materials only. QR codes replace or accompany a longer link, making it easier for your audience to access associated online content.

Here are a few rules to follow:

• Where possible, position your QR code in the bottom left of the page (this is the standard, so makes it easier to find for those with visual impairments).
• Make sure your QR code is large enough to be scanned in the final print size (consider how far away your audience will be if the code is on a poster or banner).
• Make sure you include a description next to the code: tell people where the QR code will take them.

Generating QR codes

You can create QR codes with many free tools online, including Canva.

Search the web for 'free QR code generator' and you will see where you can put your web link in and save the QR code it generates to add to your printed materials.

Use the bullet and numbered list functionality offered by the software. Don't add spaces or dashes manually. This disadvantages visually impaired users who rely on using screen reader software, as the software won't recognise it as a list.

If the image conveys information not otherwise available, you need to add appropriate alternative text (alt text) if possible, or a full text alternative.

• Complex graphics: infographics or flow charts etc can't be described adequately through the 'alt text'. Provide a full text alternative.
• Purely decorative images: mark as decorative if you can (for web content enter two speech marks "" in the 'alt text' field). Don't leave it blank as a screen reader will read out its filename; not helpful!.
• Social media: most socials have an accessibility option with alt text for posts. You can also describe the image in the post or as a caption.

Writing alt text is subjective: see our full guide to making images accessible

Does it need to be table? 

Make sure you're not using a table for layout purposes. Could the information be presented using headings, sub-headings and bullet points?

Keep it simple, and use a header row

Screen reader software reads a table from top to bottom and left to right. It can't interpret tables with no headings or with complex structures. Keep the structure simple: don't split cells, merge cells or use nested tables.

How to create a header row in Microsoft Word:

• Select the top row
• Right-click and choose table properties
• Choose Repeat as header row at the top of each page
• Deselect Allow row to break across pages.

Structure and colour matter, especially to dyslexic readers people with colour blindness. Remember, these are both invisible and pretty common, and you don't know who is affected and who isn't.

• Left-align text (do not justify or centre)
• Number pages in long documents
• Don't use colour alone to show meaning; use text or symbols in addition
• Don't use a watermark: it's invisible to screen readers and makes text harder to read
• Check for sufficient colour contrast between text and background. In Microsoft use the 'Check Accessibility' menu. This tool checks contrast of text on a background image, or try these colour contrast checkers
• Headers and footers aren't read by some screen reader software, so you'll need to include essential information elsewhere (such as on the cover page).

• Minimum font size 12 (bigger for presentations)
• Use non-serif fonts (such as Arial or Helvetica)
• Avoid underlining text unless it's a link
• Avoid italics or all capitals (they're harder to read if you have dyslexia)
• Use bold sparingly: it slows down reading and can look 'shouty'
• Social media hashtags should be in #CamelCase #MoreReadable #lessreadable (and give text alternatives for images: see point 5!)

Adopting a plain English writing style will transform your communication and make it much more accessible to all. Inherent in plain English is keeping audience needs at the forefront of your mind when writing, and then editing your wording to be as concise as possible. 

It's a practice that you get better at the more you do it. Our plain English checklist tells you all you need to know.

Help everyone understand your message - your audience will thank you!

Here's how to check you've done enough - accessibility checking tools for documents and websites will highlight any remaining issues and offer advice on how to fix them.

• Detailed accessible Word docs guide (pdf) by Michigan Department for Education
• Video tutorials on how to create accessible content by CALL Scotland
• Microsoft guides: in-depth accessibility advice for most Office applications
• Make presentation slides accessible
• Make PDFs accessible
• Make video accessible