Google docs does not have as many accessibility features as Microsoft Word. And if exporting to a PDF, none of the accessibility tagging features will be preserved. To get the best results, you might want to consider downloading your Google doc to Microsoft Word at certain points in the creation process in order to make tables accessible, run an accessibility checker, and before exporting to a PDF. However, there are still important guidelines and techniques to follow to make your Google doc as accessible as possible.
Using good heading and page structures in a Google doc helps organize the information, and allows screen reader users to navigate through the content. Though styling text to look like a heading or hitting the tab button for list items might be fine for visual users, it is not enough information for a screen reader to detect.
Just making text larger and bold does not make it a heading. In order to convert text to a heading in Google docs, use the built-in Heading styles like “Heading 1” and “Heading 2”, available in the 'Styles' drop-down menu in the toolbar.
*Note: Heading 1 is usually reserved for the title of the document. Heading 2 is used for sub level headings. If there are additional levels of headings, use Heading 3, Heading 4, etc. Sub level headings can be repeated but don't skip levels.
Use Google docs built-in list feature in the toolbar to create either numbered, bulleted, or checklists.
Google docs does not support features that would make a table accessible, like the ability to define a header row. Try to avoid using tables in Google docs whenever possible and present the information in alternative way. Or, export your Google doc to a Word file, and follow the steps to make a table accessible in Word.
Other page structures and formatting options include adding columns, adjusting the paragraph spacing, indentations, and more, all of which can be accessed via the toolbar. Visit Google Support for more information on how to create, edit, and format content in Google Docs.
To make images accessible, add alternative text that will be read to a user by a screen reader. Alternative text should give both semantic and descriptive meaning to images.
Alternative text can be presented in two ways:
Right-click the image and select 'Alt Text' from the drop-down menu.
Add alt text in the description field, not the title field. If the image is decorative or the information in the image is already conveyed in it's surrounding context, add closed quotes ("") in the description field to give the image null alt text.
Some images are purely decorative. Others have information that is already conveyed in the context of the document, and therefore adding more description in the alt text will be redundant for a screen reader user to hear. In these cases, you can add closed quotes ("") in the description field of the alt text function in Google Docs.
When deciding whether you need to add descriptive alt text or use null ("") alt text, ask: Does this image contain information that is not conveyed in its surrounding context?
Yes
Use descriptive alt text to convey the content of the image in terms of its function in the document.
No
Use null alt text ("").
Sometimes, a screen reader user might want to hear all of the links in a document read out loud in a list or sequence. So it's important that the link text alone conveys the function of the link. When creating a hyperlink in a Word document, include text that conveys information about the where the link goes.
In your Google doc, highlight the text you want to hyperlink and press Ctrl + k on a Windows or Command + k on a Mac. Or right-click and select 'Insert Link' from the drop-down menu.
There is an accessibility checker for Google docs available to install, however it is not as robust or effective as Microsoft Word's Accessibility Checker. Consider downloading your Google doc as a Word .docx file and running Word's Accessibility Checker for the best results. From there, you can upload your file to Google docs again, keep the file as a Word file, or export the document to PDF. See Accessibility for Microsoft Word.
To download your Google doc to Microsoft Word, select 'File' > 'Download', and select 'Microsoft Word (.docx)'.
If you export a Google doc straight to a PDF, none of the accessibility features will be preserved. Export the document to Word first, use the built-in Word Accessibility Checker, and then export to a PDF.
To export a Google doc to Word, go to 'File' > 'Download' > 'Microsoft Word (.docx)'.
When a Google doc is Published to the Web, it will appear as a scrollable HTML page, which is often a better experience for screen reader users. Learn how to publish to the web from Google.
Make your document or presentation more accessible | Google Support
Google Workspace Accessibility - Docs | University of Colorado Boulder
Creating Accessible Google Documents | University of Michigan
Grackle Docs | Google Add-On Accessibility Checker
Accessibility for Google Docs | Google Add-On Accessibility Checker
