What Is the Easiest Way to Create Accessible Documents?

The easiest way to create accessible documents is to start with a well-structured source file in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, use built-in heading styles and alt text from the beginning, run the built-in accessibility checker, and then export to PDF using the correct method. This "born accessible" approach takes far less effort than trying to fix an inaccessible document after the fact — and it ensures your students, including those using screen readers or other assistive technologies, can engage with your course materials from day one.

Below is a step-by-step guide that any faculty member can follow, no technical background required.

Step 1: Start with the Right Source Document

Accessibility begins before you type a single word. The two best tools for creating accessible documents are Microsoft Word and Google Docs, because both offer robust built-in accessibility features that carry over when you export to PDF.

Choose whichever you are most comfortable with. The key principle is the same: never start in a PDF editor. PDFs are an output format, not an authoring format. If you build your document in Word or Google Docs first, the underlying structure — headings, reading order, lists, tables — gets embedded automatically.

• For Word users, see our detailed walkthrough: How to Create an Accessible PDF from Word
• For Google Docs users: How to Create an Accessible PDF from Google Docs

Step 2: Use Built-In Heading Styles (Do Not Fake It)

This is the single most impactful thing you can do. Instead of making text bold and increasing the font size to create a "heading," use the Styles pane in Word or the Styles dropdown in Google Docs to apply Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, and so on.

Why does this matter? Screen readers rely on heading tags to let users navigate a document. A student who is blind can jump from section to section the same way a sighted student scans bold text — but only if real heading styles are used. Bold 16-point text looks like a heading visually, but to a screen reader it is just another paragraph.

Quick rules for headings:

• Heading 1 — Document title (use only once)
• Heading 2 — Major sections
• Heading 3 — Subsections within a Heading 2
• Never skip levels (for example, do not jump from Heading 1 to Heading 3)

This also applies to lists. Use the built-in bulleted or numbered list buttons rather than manually typing dashes or numbers. Structure that comes from styles is structure that assistive technology can read.

Step 3: Add Alt Text as You Go

Every image, chart, graph, or diagram in your document needs alternative text — a brief description that conveys the same information the image provides to sighted readers. The best time to write alt text is the moment you insert the image, while the purpose of the image is fresh in your mind.

In both Word and Google Docs, right-click the image and select the alt text option. Keep descriptions concise (typically one to two sentences) and focused on what the image communicates in the context of your document, not simply what it looks like.

For a deeper guide on writing effective descriptions for educational content, see How to Write Alt Text for Educational Images.

A few alt text principles for faculty:

• A photo of a cell under a microscope should describe what the student is expected to observe, not just say "microscope image."
• Decorative images (borders, spacers) should be marked as decorative so screen readers skip them entirely.
• Complex charts or data tables may need a longer description or a text-based summary nearby.

Step 4: Run the Built-In Accessibility Checker

Both Word and Google Docs include free accessibility checkers that catch common problems before you export.

• Microsoft Word: Go to Review > Check Accessibility. The panel will flag missing alt text, skipped heading levels, low-contrast text, and more.
• Google Docs: Install the Grackle Docs add-on for a similar check, or use the basic accessibility features in the Accessibility menu.

Treat this checker the way you would treat a spell checker — run it every time before you share or publish. It will not catch everything, but it handles the most frequent issues.

Step 5: Export to PDF Correctly

This is where many faculty members unknowingly undo all their good work. Do not use "Print to PDF." The print function strips out the structural tags (headings, reading order, alt text) that you carefully added.

Instead:

• In Word: Use File > Save As > PDF, and make sure the "Best for electronic distribution and accessibility" option is selected (on Windows) or that Tags are included (on Mac).
• In Google Docs: Use File > Download > PDF. Google Docs generally preserves tag structure in the download, though results can vary.

The difference is invisible to sighted users — both methods produce a PDF that looks identical. But to a screen reader, a printed PDF is a wall of unstructured text, while a properly exported PDF is a navigable document. For more detail on what makes a PDF truly accessible, visit our PDF accessibility features overview.

Step 6: Test with a Screen Reader

You do not need to become a screen reader expert, but spending five minutes listening to your document is enormously revealing. On Mac, press Command + F5 to activate VoiceOver. On Windows, press Ctrl + Windows + Enter to launch Narrator. Open your PDF and listen.

Ask yourself: Can I tell where each section begins? Are images described? Do tables make sense when read row by row? Even a brief test will catch problems no automated checker can find.

Common Mistakes Faculty Make

After working with university departments across multiple institutions, we see the same patterns:

1. Formatting visually instead of structurally. Bold text is not a heading. Manual numbering is not a list. Tabs and spaces are not table columns.
2. Adding alt text after the fact (or not at all). It is much harder to remember what an image was meant to convey weeks after inserting it.
3. Using "Print to PDF." This single habit is probably the most common source of inaccessible documents in higher education.
4. Scanning paper documents to PDF without OCR. A scanned image of text is just a picture — it contains no actual text for a screen reader to find.
5. Assuming the document is fine because it looks fine. Accessibility is about structure, not appearance.

Making It Even Easier

Following the steps above will get you most of the way to fully accessible documents. But when you have a backlog of hundreds of existing PDFs, or when you need to ensure compliance across an entire department, manual remediation can become overwhelming.

That is the problem Aelira was built to solve. Our platform scans documents for accessibility issues, auto-remediates common problems using AI, and gives your team a clear compliance dashboard — so faculty can focus on teaching, not on tag structure. If your institution is preparing for the 2026 ADA deadline, learn how Aelira can help by requesting a pilot.