As of April 2026, all documents presented on the web must be accessible by default. The one exception to this rule is archival documents that were produced before June 2024. This includes archived newsletters and documents that are not currently used for any classroom or promotional purposes. If a document was produced before June 2024 and is still being referenced as a current source of information, it needs to follow accessibility guidelines.
In general, following best practices for web content accessibility (heading structure, table formatting, providing alt text for images, etc.) is the first step to ensuring that your online documents are accessible. However, each document software comes with its own built-in accessibility tools.
Microsoft Word document tools
Using the Styles tool in Word to select a heading is the correct way to organize your document and ensure that it follows accessibility standards. Styling heading text by making the font larger or simply changing the boldness will not add the proper markup that screen readers need to identify headings. If the default heading styles do not match the look you require for your document, these styles can be modified within Word (see “Customize or create new styles” on the Microsoft support website). Please keep in mind appropriate color contrast when styling headings. You can check the accessibility of color combinations by using the WebAIM Color Contrast Checker.
Word also has a built-in accessibility checker that can help identify many accessibility issues. For example, it will mark images without alt text, give warnings when link text is not descriptive, and provide tips for presenting and organizing content. While this tool can be helpful for identifying many issues, it is important to keep in mind that it cannot check for or identify everything. The accessibility checker can be found in the “Review” tab under “Check Accessibility”. For more information on how to use this and other built-in tools, visit the Microsoft Support website.
For more detailed information on how to make accessible Word documents, visit CITL’s Word Accessibility Guide.
Adobe PDF documents
In general, PDF documents are not recommended because they are difficult to remediate and make fully accessible. In cases where a PDF is necessary, best practice is to start out by building your document in a more accessible program (Word, PowerPoint, InDesign) and then convert it to a PDF using that program’s tools. Even when doing this, the final PDF document will need to be checked for accessibility using Adobe Acrobat’s built-in accessibility checker, then checked again manually. Pay attention to the tags and reading order of the PDF. Sometimes, the accessibility checker will pass content that is not actually accessible. (cite source: CITL)
To access the Accessibility Checker in Adobe Acrobat, select “All Tools”, then select “View more”, and finally “Prepare for Accessibility”. From that panel, select “Check for accessibility”. Once the check is complete, it will display a panel that lists accessibility issues.
For more information on creating accessible PDF documents, visit CITL’s PDF Accessibility Guide.
Other documents
When designing PowerPoint slides, it is important to utilize PowerPoint’s default slide templates. As with Word, the default styles provide the correct markup that will allow screen readers to successfully navigate through the slides. The University of Illinois’ Strategic Communications team has created several accessible and university branded PowerPoint templates that are available for download.
When creating Excel spreadsheets, general accessibility guidelines for documents should be followed (alt text for images, descriptive text, accessible color choices, etc). Some formatting options can cause issues for accessibility and should be avoided. These options include, merged cells, split cells, and nested tables.
For more information on creating accessible documents using PowerPoint, Excel, Canvas, and others, visit the Center for Teaching & Learning (CITL) website for Document Accessibility Guidelines