Topics Map > Accessibility
Accessibility and Universal Design for PowerPoint
Slide Layout and Structure
✔️️ Give Every Slide a Unique Title
Screen readers use slide titles to navigate through PowerPoint, so do the following when creating slides:
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- Give every slide a unique, descriptive title so assistive technology users can navigate easily through your presentation.
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- If you have a slide where you do not want a visible title to appear, add a hidden title to the slide. Even though the title isn't visible, the screen reader will still be able to use it for navigation.
✔️️ Verify Reading Order
Use the Reading Order Pane (Review > Check Accessiblity > Reading Order Pane) to verify that your slide content will be read in the correct sequence by assistive technology.
You can reorder elements, uncheck non-essential items to exclude them from being read, and add or edit alt text for individual objects.
✔️️ Use Plain Slide Backgrounds
Use plain, uncluttered slide backgrounds with ample white space to reduce visual distractions. Avoid background images, textures, or patterns that can make text harder to read or compete with your content.
✔️️ Provide Ample White Space & Use Built-In Spacing Tools
Use ample white space between elements on your slides to improve visual readability. to make them easier to read for your viewers. Instead of adding white space by pressing Enter multiple times, use paragraph spacing options to add space above or below content in your slides. This keeps spacing consistent and prevents reading order issues for screen reader users.
✔️️ Use a Consistent Format
Apply the same fonts, sizes, heading levels, and layout styles throughout your presentation to support readability and reduce cognitive load.
Use PowerPoint’s Slide Master (View > Slide Master) to adjust and apply consistent formatting across all slides.
Writing Best Practices
✔️️ Limit Each Slide to One Idea
Focus each slide on a single concept or topic to support clarity and reduce cognitive overload. This helps your audience absorb and retain information more effectively.
✔️️ Use Short Sentences or Bulleted Lists
Write in short bullet points. Ideally, add no more than six lines per slide, with around six words or fewer per line in order to keep slides readable and focused.
✔️️ Use Simple, Direct Language
Plain, straightforward language improves comprehension for all learners and is easier for screen readers to process.
✔️️ Avoid Blocks of Text
Large paragraphs are difficult to read on slides and can be problematic for screen readers. Instead, summarize key points using bullet points or concise phrases. If you need to share detailed information, include it in a supplemental Word document for later reference.
✔️️ Do Not Underline for Emphasis
Use bold text for emphasis. Only use underlining for hyperlinks. Underlining text indicates that it is a link.
✔️️ Spell Out Acronyms When They First Appear
Spell out acronyms the first time you use them to ensure clarity for everyone.
Font and Color
✔️️ Use Sans Serif Fonts
Use sans serif fonts (e.g., Helvetica, Arial, Verdana) because serif fonts can be harder to read on screen.
✔️️ Select Appropriate Font Sizes
Use the following sizes for fonts so content is legible at a distance and on various devices:
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Slide title 44 points
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Slide subheadings 32–40 points
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Slide content 24 points minimum
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✔️️ Use High-Contrast Color
Ensure high contrast between text and background. For example, dark text on a light background or light text on dark background. Black text on a white background is always reliable, accessible choice.
✅ Accessible - This color has a high contrast to its background.
✅ Accessible - This color has a high contrast to its background.
To determine if you have sufficient color contrast, use the Powerpoint Accessibility Checker or WebAIM Contrast Checker. The accessibility checkers will verify Font color contrast and Link color contrast.
✔️️ Do Not Use Color Alone to Convey Meaning
Individuals with colorblindness or who use screen readers will miss information if color is the only way of conveying meaning.
Color coding content is fine as long as you use labels or icons in addition to color to convey meaning.
Example:
✅ Accessible
Score > 70% - Passing
Score < 69% - At Risk
❌ Not Accessible
Score > 70%
Score < 69%
Images, Charts, and Graphics
✔️️ Use Alt Text for Meaningful Images
Alt text (alternative text) is a short written description of an image that conveys its purpose or meaning to people using screen readers or other assistive technology.
Alt text image descriptions are normally hidden from sighted users; however, when an image fails to load, its alt text will appear in place of the image.
Accessibility Requirements
Accessibility standards require that every image should either have alt text or be marked as decorative.
Decorative images are images that do not add meaning (are purely decorative) and should be skipped by screen readers.
What Kind of Alt Text Does My Image Need?
For every image in your content, you need to do one of the following:
For Simple Informative Images - Add a Brief Alt Text Description
A simple informative image adds meaning to the surrounding content and can be fully described in one or two concise sentences of alt text.
Example
The image below is simple enough to be described in under 120 characters.
The alt text could be something like: Water evaporates from the ocean, rises as vapor, forms a cloud, and falls back as rain.
Alt Text Principles for Simple Images
- Keep alt text description under 120 characters when possible.
- Describe image and the meaning you want the image to convey.
- Do not include phrases like "a picture of." Screen readers already announce that it's an image.
For support in writing alt text, try tools like the AI Image Accessibility Generator to help draft descriptions that you can review and edit for accuracy.
Adding Alt Text to an Image in PowerPoint
- Right-click an image.
- Select View Alt Text.
- Enter alt text in the text box.
For Complex Images - Add a Brief Alt Text Description & a Long Description
Some images, such as detailed diagrams, are too complex to fully explain in a couple of sentences. For complex images, you need to add both of the following:
- Alt text summary - In the image's Alt Text area, add alt text (120 characters or fewer) that provides a short summary/overview of the complex image.
- Long description - Create a long, detailed description of the image. You can include the description in your content in one of the following ways:
- Put the long description in a separate document, and provide the link to the document underneath the complex image OR
- Put the long description in the Notes area of your PowerPoint slide.
Example
The following image contains a short summary in the Alt Text field and a linked long description beneath the image.
Image 1: Earth's Water Cycle. Detailed description of Image 1: Earth's Water Cycle.
First - Add an Alt Text Summary to the Complex Image
For a complex image, first add alt text (120 characters or fewer) that provides a short summary/overview of the complex image.
- Right-click an image.
- Select View Alt Text.
- Enter the 120 character or fewer alt text summary description in the text box.
Second - Add a Detailed Description of the Complex Image
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Write a long description of the complex image that includes:
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The main ideas conveyed by the image
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The data or relationships between elements
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Comparisons, trends, or conclusions
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- Add the long description to your content using either method:
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- Add it to the Notes area of your PowerPoint slide.
- Add it to a separate document and add a link to the document under the image.
➡️ Click to read the sample long description written for the picture above.
For Purely Decorative Images - Mark Image as Decorative
Decorative Images don't provide additional meaning to your content. Instead, they are images that are used only for visual appeal.
Do not add alt text to decorative images.
Instead, mark the image as Decorative. This tells screen readers to skip the image rather than reading a description of the image.
Examples of Decorative Images
- Background images and logos
- Borders, divider lines, and shapes that don't have an instructional purpose
- Photos used solely to make content more visually appealing
How to Determine if an Image is Decorative
Tip: To determine if an image is decorative, ask yourself: Would my readers miss important information if this image were removed?
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- If your answer is no, then you should mark the image as "decorative."
- If yes, the image needs alt text.
Marking an Image as Decorative in Microsoft Word
1.In Microsoft Word, right-click on an image, and select View Alt Text.
2. Check Mark as Decorative.
Tables
✔️️ Only Use Tables for Data
Do not use tables to control the layout of your slide's contents. Tables should only be used to present data.
✔️️ Do Not Merge or Split Table Cells
Table cells that have been merged or split can cause problems for screen readers.
✔️️ Create Tables Using Insert > Table
Create tables using PowerPoint’s Insert Table tool. Do not use paste in tables or built tables using text boxes, spaces, or screenshots.
✔️️ Mark Table Headers
Table headers are the cells that label your data (the top row and/or the left column).
You must identify a table's headers by marking rows and columns as table headers in PowerPoint. This tells screen readers which label to read with each data cell, providing essential context for people who use screen readers.
Without header cells, screen readers simply read each table cell in sequence from left to right, top to bottom, without conveying how the data is organized.
Marking Table Headers
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- Click anywhere in the table, and in the PowerPoint menu, click Table Design:
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If the top row of your table functions as a header for the table, check Header Row.
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If the left column of the table functions as a header for the table, check First Column.
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✔️️ Verify Logical Reading Order
Make sure tables have a logical reading order (i.e., can be read left to right and top to bottom). You can test the order in which a screen reader will read the contents of your table by pressing the Tab key to navigate through your table.
✔️️ Add a Caption Above a Table (Optional)
Consider adding a table caption above your table for clarity. A table caption should provide a clear title or description of the information the table contains.
Example:
Table 1: Comparison of the Three Largest Cities in Wisconsin by Population, Area, and County
Multimedia (Audio/Video)
✔️️ Provide Accurate Captions for Videos
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- Captions must be accurate (spelled/capitalized correctly, punctuated correctly, etc.) in order to be considered accessible.
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For videos with audio, transcripts cannot be used as a substitute for captions.
✔️️ Provide Transcripts for Audio-Only Content
Provide a transcript for audio-only content (e.g., a podcast clip) so all learners can access the content. You can provide the transcript in the Notes or link to the transcript in a separate file.
✔️️ Provide Audio Descriptions
For important visual content (like diagrams and charts in a video), add a narrated description that explains their meaning. (e.g., Instead of simply saying "this chart," describe the chart you are referring to, "this chart that shows the correlation of...")
✔️️ Do Not Use Flashing, Flickering, or Animated Content
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- Flashing/flickering can trigger seizures.
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Only use still images and very subtle animations.
Hyperlinks and Email Addresses
✔️️ Use Descriptive Link Text
Write links that describe where the link will take users (e.g., “UWM Accessibility Guidelines”).
✅ Accessible - Read about the WCAG 2.1 Accessibility Guidelines
✔️️ Avoid "Click Here" or "Read More"
Screen reader users often navigate by links, so descriptive links (vs. "click here" or a URL) are essential for context.
❌ Not accessible - Click here to read about WCAG 2.1 Accessibility Guidelines.
❌ Not accessible - Review the WCAG 2.1 Accessibility Guidelines - https://www.w3.org/TR/2024/REC-WCAG21-20241212/
✔️️ Provide Link in Chat During Live Presentations
In a live presentation, post the Link in the chat so people can access the website you're referring to on your slide.
File Properties, Headers, Footers, and File Format
✔️️ Enter the Title in File Properties
Fill in the Title field in the Properties of your PPT file. A file's Title is used by assistive technologies to:
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- Identify the file when it opens (rather than announcing the file name).
- Distinguish it from other open files.
- Provide context when navigating through multiple files or windows.
Entering a PowerPoint File's Title
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- In the PowerPoint menu, select File and then select Info.
- Enter the title of your PowerPoint in the Title field.
✔️️ Use PowerPoint Header/Footer Tool
While they are not required, if you want to add page numbers and footers to your slides, use PowerPoint’s built-in Header & Footer tool so they’re read correctly by assistive technology. Avoid typing headers, footers, and page numbers manually because screen readers may not interpret them correctly.
✔️️ Keep File Name Descriptive and <30 Characters
Use a short, meaningful file name without spaces or special characters for clarity and compatibility.
Example:
accessibility_overview.pptx
✔️️ Save as .pptx Format
Always save your presentation as a .pptx file. Older formats like .ppt do not fully support accessibility features and may cause issues with screen readers.
Use PowerPoint’s Accessibility Checker
- Run PowerPoint’s Accessibility Checker (Review > Check Accessibility) to identify common accessibility issues.
- Keep in mind that it won’t catch everything; this checklist includes important accessibility and design practices that go beyond what the checker can detect.
Presentation and Narration Tips
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If you are making a narrated PowerPoint, read about best practices for creating accessible narrated PowerPoint videos.
- To share a narrated PowerPoint with your students:
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- Always export your narrated .pptx to video.
- Upload the video to My Media.
- Edit the video's automatic captions for accuracy.
- Embed the video in a Canvas class.
- Optionally provide your .pptx file in Canvas as a supplement to students.
