New Components

Detailed Authoring Guide

For each element: the accessible way to build it, the fastest way to do that in Word, a default step-by-step, how to customize it while staying accessible, and the pitfalls to avoid. Grouped by structure & navigation, content objects, text & links, and document settings.

On this page

Structure & navigation

Headings & titles

Accessible way: Apply Word’s built-in Heading styles (Home > Styles, or Ctrl+Alt+1/2/3) in strict order — H1, then H2, then H3 — never skipping a level. This is what builds the navigation structure screen readers and the Accessibility Checker rely on.

Easiest way: Select the text and press Ctrl+Alt+1 for Heading 1, Ctrl+Alt+2 for Heading 2, and so on.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Select the text you want to turn into a heading.
  2. Go to the Home tab.
  3. In the Styles gallery, click Heading 1 for a top-level section, Heading 2 for a subsection, and so on.
  4. Repeat for every section, keeping levels in strict order (don’t jump from Heading 1 to Heading 3).

Customizing it (while staying accessible):

Need more than 3 levels, or want your headings to look different from Word’s defaults? Do it by editing the built-in style, not by manually formatting text — that keeps the outline level intact.

  1. For deeper structure, open the Styles pane (Home > Styles, click the expand arrow) to reach Heading 4 through Heading 9, and apply them the same way as H1–H3.
  2. To change how a level looks (font, color, size) everywhere at once: right-click that Heading style in the Styles gallery, choose Modify.
  3. Adjust the formatting in the dialog, then click OK — every instance of that heading level updates, and it stays tagged as a real heading.

Avoid:

  • Skipping heading levels (H1 straight to H3)
  • Using bold or a bigger font instead of a real Heading style
  • Applying a heading style to text that isn’t actually a section title, just for visual size
  • Creating a custom style that only looks like a heading instead of basing it on a built-in Heading level — it won’t carry an outline level, so it’s invisible to navigation and the TOC

Lists

Accessible way: Select the paragraphs, then apply Home > Bullets or Home > Numbering (or Multilevel List for nested lists) so the list is tagged as a real list, which lets a screen reader announce “list, item 1 of 5.”

Easiest way: Type “*” or “1.” followed by a space at the start of a line — Word’s AutoFormat converts it into a proper list automatically.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Select the paragraphs to turn into a list.
  2. Go to the Home tab, Paragraph group.
  3. Click Bullets for an unordered list, or Numbering for an ordered list.
  4. For nested lists, use Multilevel List, then press Tab on a line to demote it a level.

Customizing it (while staying accessible):

Want a different bullet symbol, a roman-numeral or lettered scheme, or a specific mix of formats across nested levels? Define it as a custom list format rather than typing characters manually.

  1. For a custom bullet symbol: with the list selected, click the arrow next to the Bullets button > Define New Bullet > choose a symbol, picture, or font character > OK.
  2. For a custom numbering format (e.g. i., ii., iii. or a), b), c)): click the arrow next to the Numbering button > Define New Number Format > choose the number style > OK.
  3. For a multilevel scheme with different formats per level (e.g. 1. / a. / i.): Home > Multilevel List > Define New Multilevel List, and set the format for each level in turn.

Avoid:

  • Typing dash/asterisk/number characters manually instead of using a list style
  • Using manual indentation (Tab/spaces) instead of list levels for nested lists
  • Manually typing a custom bullet symbol or letter outside the list style — it looks right but isn’t tagged as a list item

Table of contents

Accessible way: Apply Heading styles throughout the document first, then insert References > Table of Contents > Automatic Table. It’s built from the headings and stays fully navigable and clickable.

Easiest way: References > Table of Contents > pick the first automatic style — one click once headings exist.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Apply Heading styles to every section title in the document.
  2. Place the cursor where the table of contents should appear.
  3. Go to the References tab, click Table of Contents.
  4. Choose “Automatic Table 1” or “Automatic Table 2.”
  5. After editing the document, right-click the table and choose Update Field > Update entire table.

Customizing it (while staying accessible):

Only want certain heading levels listed, or need the entries styled differently? Use the Custom Table of Contents dialog rather than editing the generated text by hand.

  1. References > Table of Contents > Custom Table of Contents.
  2. Set “Show levels” to however many heading levels you want included (e.g. 2 to hide Heading 3 and deeper).
  3. Click Options to map a non-heading style you use for titles into a specific TOC level, if needed.
  4. Click Modify to change the font/spacing of the TOC 1, TOC 2, etc. entry styles, then OK, then OK again to regenerate.

Avoid:

  • Typing a manual list of section names and page numbers
  • Using Tab and typed dots to fake a dot leader instead of the TOC field

Page numbers

Accessible way: Insert > Page Number > choose a position. This inserts a real field code that updates automatically and is announced correctly by assistive technology.

Easiest way: Insert > Page Number > Bottom of Page > Plain Number.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Go to the Insert tab, click Page Number.
  2. Choose a position: Top of Page, Bottom of Page, Page Margins, or Current Position.
  3. Pick a numbering style from the gallery.
  4. Double-click outside the header/footer area to return to the body text.

Customizing it (while staying accessible):

Need roman numerals for a front matter section, a different start number, or no number on the cover page? These all rely on section breaks, still using the real Page Number field.

  1. Insert a section break (Layout > Breaks > Next Page) at the point where the numbering style should change.
  2. Click into the new section’s footer/header, then Insert > Page Number > Format Page Numbers.
  3. Choose the Number format (1, 2, 3 or i, ii, iii) and set “Start at” to the value you want.
  4. To hide the number on a specific page, go to Header & Footer > Design tab and tick “Different First Page,” leaving that page’s number field empty.

Avoid:

  • Typing page numbers manually as static text, which won’t update and isn’t a recognized field

Headers and footers

Accessible way: Keep header/footer content limited to repeated, non-essential information (logo, document title, page number). Anything the reader actually needs should also appear in the body text.

Easiest way: Insert > Header or Insert > Footer > choose a built-in layout, then edit the placeholder text.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Go to the Insert tab, click Header (or Footer).
  2. Choose a built-in layout, or click Edit Header / Edit Footer.
  3. Type the repeated content (title, page number field, etc.).
  4. Double-click anywhere in the body text to close header/footer editing.

Customizing it (while staying accessible):

Need a different header on the cover page, different odd/even pages, or a different header per chapter? All three are built-in options — none require retyping content by hand.

  1. For a unique first page: with the header or footer active, go to Header & Footer > Design tab and tick “Different First Page,” then edit that page’s header separately.
  2. For alternating left/right pages: tick “Different Odd & Even Pages” in the same tab, then edit each version.
  3. For a different header per chapter/section: insert a section break before the new chapter, click into its header, then click “Link to Previous” to unlink it from the prior section before editing.

Avoid:

  • Putting essential instructions or unique content only in the header/footer — most screen readers announce it once per section, not on every page

Page & section breaks

Accessible way: Use Layout > Breaks > Page Break or Section Break whenever the layout genuinely changes (new chapter, new numbering, new columns).

Easiest way: Ctrl+Enter inserts a simple page break instantly.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Place the cursor where the break should occur.
  2. Go to the Layout tab, click Breaks.
  3. Choose Page for a simple page break, or a Section Break type (Next Page, Continuous, etc.) if numbering or columns need to change from that point on.

Avoid:

  • Pressing Enter repeatedly to push content onto the next page — this creates empty paragraphs that read as blank stops for screen reader users

Columns

Accessible way: Use Layout > Columns only for genuinely parallel content (e.g. a newsletter), and always test the resulting reading order with a screen reader before sending the document out.

Easiest way: Layout > Columns > Two or Three from the built-in gallery.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Select the text to place in columns, or position the cursor if applying to the whole document.
  2. Go to the Layout tab, click Columns.
  3. Choose Two, Three, or More Columns for custom widths.
  4. Read the result back with a screen reader (or Word’s Read Aloud) to confirm the order makes sense.

Customizing it (while staying accessible):

Need unequal column widths, extra spacing, or a dividing line — or columns applied to only part of the document?

  1. Select only the text that should be columnar before applying columns — Word inserts continuous section breaks around just that selection automatically.
  2. Layout > Columns > More Columns.
  3. Untick “Equal column width” to set each column’s width and spacing individually, or tick “Line between” for a divider.
  4. Click OK, then re-test the reading order with a screen reader.

Avoid:

  • Using columns to fake a side-by-side table
  • Assuming the visual column layout matches the screen-reader reading order without testing it

On this page

Content objects

Tables

Accessible way: Insert > Table for genuinely tabular data only. In Table Design, tick “Header Row,” and for tables spanning multiple pages use Layout > Repeat Header Rows.

Easiest way: Insert > Table, drag to size, then leave “Header Row” ticked in Table Design — it’s on by default in most templates.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Go to the Insert tab, click Table, and drag to choose the size (or use Insert Table for a precise size).
  2. With the table selected, go to the Table Design tab.
  3. Confirm “Header Row” is ticked.
  4. Type the column labels into the first row.
  5. For tables that span multiple pages, select the header row, go to Layout tab, click Repeat Header Rows.

Customizing it (while staying accessible):

Want your own color scheme or border style instead of a built-in table style? Build it as a table style so the header row stays marked, rather than manually shading individual cells.

  1. Table Design tab > open the Table Styles gallery > right-click any style > New Table Style.
  2. Set your colors, borders, and shading for each part (header row, banded rows, etc.) in the dialog.
  3. Click OK, then apply the new style from the gallery.
  4. In Table Design > Table Style Options, keep “Header Row” ticked so it still applies to whichever row you designated.

Avoid:

  • Merging cells, which breaks row/column navigation for screen readers
  • Using a table purely to control page layout or spacing
  • Leaving cells empty without explanation, or nesting tables inside tables
  • Picking a table style whose header row isn’t visually distinct enough — low-vision readers need to see the header, not just have it tagged

Images and pictures

Accessible way: Right-click the image > Edit Alt Text, and write a concise description of its content or purpose — or tick “Mark as decorative” if it conveys no information. Set wrapping to “In Line with Text” (Picture Format > Wrap Text) so it stays in the reading order.

Easiest way: Use the Alt Text pane’s auto-suggestion as a starting point, but always read and edit it — it’s frequently generic or wrong.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Go to the Insert tab, click Pictures, and choose the image.
  2. Click the image to select it.
  3. Right-click and choose Edit Alt Text (or Picture Format tab > Alt Text).
  4. Type a concise description, or tick “Mark as decorative.”
  5. Go to Picture Format tab > Wrap Text > In Line with Text.

Avoid:

  • Floating wrap options — Square, Tight, Behind Text, In Front of Text
  • Putting meaningful text inside the image itself
  • Leaving alt text blank, or generic like “image1.jpg”

Text boxes

Accessible way: Avoid text boxes for real content entirely. For a boxed or callout look, use a one-cell table with borders/shading, or a paragraph style with a border (Home > Borders).

Easiest way: Apply a border and shading directly to a paragraph from the Home tab’s Borders dropdown — same visual result, stays in the natural reading order.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Type the content as a normal paragraph, rather than inserting a text box.
  2. Select the paragraph.
  3. Go to the Home tab, click the arrow next to Borders, then Borders and Shading.
  4. Apply a border and/or shading to get the boxed look while keeping the text in the reading order.

Customizing it (while staying accessible):

Want a specific border color, thickness, or padding for your callout paragraph?

  1. With the paragraph selected, Home > Borders arrow > Borders and Shading > Options.
  2. Set the border color and width on the Borders tab, and the fill color on the Shading tab.
  3. On the Options sub-dialog, adjust the padding between the border and the text.
  4. Click OK — save this combination as a custom paragraph style (New Style) if you’ll reuse it, so it’s applied consistently.

Avoid:

  • Insert > Text Box for anything the reader needs to read — its content sits outside the normal flow and is often skipped or read out of order

SmartArt, diagrams & charts

Accessible way: Right-click the whole graphic > Edit Alt Text and write one description covering the overall message or relationship it shows — not just a list of the shapes inside it.

Easiest way: For simple relationships, a numbered or bulleted list often communicates the same information more reliably than SmartArt, with far less accessibility work.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Go to the Insert tab, click SmartArt (or Chart), choose a layout, and add your text or data.
  2. Click the graphic to select the whole object.
  3. Right-click and choose Edit Alt Text.
  4. Write one description covering the overall message, not each individual shape.

Customizing it (while staying accessible):

Changing the layout or color scheme is purely visual, but re-check the alt text afterward if it changes what the graphic communicates.

  1. Select the SmartArt, go to SmartArt Design tab, and use Change Layout or Change Colors for a different look.
  2. For a chart, select it, go to Chart Design tab, and use Change Chart Type or Change Colors.
  3. If the new layout/type changes the relationship being shown (e.g. list to hierarchy), update the alt text to match.
  4. If colors are the only way series are distinguished, add data labels or patterns so color isn’t the sole cue.

Avoid:

  • Leaving SmartArt or charts without a summary alt text
  • Relying on color alone to distinguish chart series or categories

Cover pages

Accessible way: Build the cover using a normal Heading 1 title followed by regular paragraphs (author, date, client name), each in the natural reading flow.

Easiest way: Type the title, apply Heading 1, press Enter, then type the rest as normal paragraphs — no gallery needed.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. On the first page, type the document title.
  2. Select it and apply Heading 1 from the Styles gallery.
  3. Press Enter and type the subtitle, author, or date as normal paragraphs underneath.

Customizing it (while staying accessible):

Want a distinct look for your cover title? Change the Heading 1 style itself rather than manually formatting the title text.

  1. Right-click Heading 1 in the Styles gallery, choose Modify.
  2. Set the font, size, color, and spacing you want.
  3. Tick “Only in this document” if the change shouldn’t apply elsewhere, or leave it for the whole template.
  4. Click OK — the title stays tagged as Heading 1 while showing your custom look.

Avoid:

  • Insert > Cover Page from Word’s built-in gallery — these are built from stacked text boxes and often read poorly or not at all with a screen reader

Captions

Accessible way: Right-click the image or table > Insert Caption. This creates a properly labeled, sequentially numbered caption structurally linked to the object.

Easiest way: References > Insert Caption, accept the default label (Figure/Table) and let Word handle the numbering.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Select the image or table.
  2. Go to the References tab, click Insert Caption.
  3. Choose the label (Figure, Table, or a custom one) and the position (above or below).
  4. Click OK.

Customizing it (while staying accessible):

Need a different label than “Figure”/”Table,” or a lettered/chapter-prefixed numbering scheme?

  1. In the Insert Caption dialog, click New Label, type your own label (e.g. “Illustration”), click OK.
  2. Click Numbering to choose a format (1,2,3 / a,b,c / i,ii,iii).
  3. Tick “Include chapter number” if your document uses chapter-numbered Heading 1s, and set the separator character.
  4. Click OK to apply — the caption stays linked to the object either way.

Avoid:

  • Typing “Figure 1:” manually as a separate line of text with no structural link to the image

Watermarks

Accessible way: Design > Watermark. Word treats most built-in watermarks as background/decorative automatically — confirm with Review > Check Accessibility.

Easiest way: Design > Watermark > pick a built-in option (e.g. “Confidential”) or type custom text.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Go to the Design tab, click Watermark.
  2. Choose a built-in option, or Custom Watermark to type your own text.
  3. Click Apply, then Close.
  4. Run Review > Check Accessibility to confirm it isn’t flagged as an issue.

Customizing it (while staying accessible):

Want your own text, or a logo image instead of the built-in options?

  1. Design > Watermark > Custom Watermark.
  2. For text: select “Text watermark,” type your text, and choose the font, size, color, and layout (diagonal or horizontal).
  3. For an image: select “Picture watermark,” choose the file, and keep “Washout” ticked so it stays low-contrast behind the text.
  4. Click Apply, Close, then re-run Review > Check Accessibility.

Avoid:

  • Using a watermark to convey essential information — e.g. “DRAFT, do not distribute” as the only indicator — since it may not be reliably announced

On this page

Text & links

Accessible way: Select descriptive text first, then Insert > Link (Ctrl+K) and paste the URL. The visible text should describe the destination, not the mechanism.

Easiest way: Ctrl+K after selecting the text you want to turn into a link.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Select the descriptive text (not “click here”).
  2. Press Ctrl+K, or go to Insert tab > Link.
  3. Paste the URL into the Address field.
  4. Click OK.

Customizing it (while staying accessible):

Want links to look different (color, no underline) across the whole document? Change the built-in Hyperlink style rather than reformatting each link by hand, and keep a non-color cue.

  1. Open the Styles pane, right-click “Hyperlink,” choose Modify.
  2. Set the color and formatting you want, keeping enough contrast against the body text.
  3. Keep the underline (or add another visual cue, like bold) — WCAG 1.4.1 requires links not to rely on color alone to be identifiable.
  4. Click OK — every hyperlink in the document updates at once.

Avoid:

  • “Click here” or “read more” as the only link text
  • Pasting a bare, unformatted URL as the visible text
  • Reusing identical link text for links that go to different destinations on the same page

Footnotes & endnotes

Accessible way: Use References > Insert Footnote or Insert Endnote. Word automatically creates the numbered reference and the linked note text, both independently navigable by screen readers.

Easiest way: Alt+Ctrl+F for a footnote, Alt+Ctrl+D for an endnote.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Place the cursor where the reference number should appear.
  2. Go to the References tab, click Insert Footnote (or Insert Endnote).
  3. Type the note text in the space Word creates automatically.

Customizing it (while staying accessible):

Need a custom numbering format, a different starting number, or want to switch all notes from footnotes to endnotes?

  1. References tab > Footnotes group > click the small expand arrow to open the Footnote and Endnote dialog.
  2. Choose the Number format (1,2,3 / a,b,c / symbols) and set “Start at.”
  3. Click Convert to switch all footnotes to endnotes, or vice versa, in one step.
  4. Click Apply/OK.

Avoid:

  • Manually typing a superscript number and a note at the bottom of the page — this breaks the structural link a screen reader uses to jump between reference and note

Text emphasis

Accessible way: Use Bold (Ctrl+B) or Italic (Ctrl+I) character formatting for genuine emphasis, applied sparingly so it retains meaning.

Easiest way: Ctrl+B or Ctrl+I on selected text.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Select the text you want to emphasize.
  2. Press Ctrl+B for bold or Ctrl+I for italic.
  3. Avoid the Text Effects and Typography button for this — that’s for decorative effects, not emphasis.

Avoid:

  • WordArt or text effects (shadow, outline, 3-D)
  • Whole sentences in ALL CAPS, which is harder to read and can be misread by some screen readers
  • Using color alone to signal emphasis

Spacing

Accessible way: Set spacing through Layout > Spacing (Before/After), ideally once inside the Normal style (Home > Styles > right-click Normal > Modify) so every paragraph inherits it consistently.

Easiest way: Set it once in the Normal style rather than adjusting paragraph by paragraph.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Go to the Home tab, right-click Normal in the Styles gallery, choose Modify.
  2. In the Modify Style dialog, click Format > Paragraph.
  3. Set Spacing Before and After to consistent values.
  4. Click OK — this now applies to every paragraph using the Normal style.

Avoid:

  • Empty paragraphs or extra Enter presses used to create visual gaps — each one is announced as a blank line by a screen reader

Alignment

Accessible way: Left-align body text.

Easiest way: Ctrl+L.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Select the text, or just place the cursor in the paragraph.
  2. Press Ctrl+L to left-align.
  3. Avoid Ctrl+J (justify) for body text.

Avoid:

  • Full justification (Ctrl+J) — it creates uneven word spacing (“rivers”) that is harder to read, especially for people with dyslexia or low vision

On this page

Document settings

Language & metadata

Accessible way: Select any text in a different language and set it via Review > Language > Set Proofing Language; with nothing selected, the same dialog sets the document’s default language. Set the document title via File > Info > Properties > Title.

Easiest way: Review > Language > Set Proofing Language, and File > Info — one dialog each, done once per document.

Step by step (default formatting):

  1. Select any passage written in a different language, go to Review tab > Language > Set Proofing Language, choose the correct language, click OK.
  2. To set the whole document’s default, select all text (Ctrl+A) and repeat the same steps.
  3. Go to File > Info > Properties, and type a meaningful value in the Title field.

Avoid:

  • Leaving mixed-language passages tagged in the wrong language, which causes mispronunciation
  • Leaving the Title property blank — it then defaults to the filename, which is often meaningless when announced by a screen reader