Making Google Slides Accessible: A Step-by-Step Faculty Guide

Google Slides is one of the most popular tools for creating lecture presentations in higher education. If your university uses Google Workspace, there is a good chance your students are interacting with dozens of slide decks every semester.

Making those slides accessible does not require specialized training or expensive tools. It requires attention to a handful of practices that benefit all students, not just those using assistive technology.

Why Slide Accessibility Matters

When a student using a screen reader opens your presentation, the software reads the content in a specific order and relies on structural information that you may not realize is missing. Without proper accessibility:

• Images appear as blank or unnamed objects
• Text in shapes is read in an unpredictable order
• Charts and diagrams convey no information
• Students cannot navigate between slides efficiently

Step 1: Use Slide Layouts, Not Blank Slides

Every time you create a new slide, choose a layout from the template options (Title Slide, Title and Body, Section Header, etc.) rather than starting with a blank slide and adding text boxes manually.

Why this matters: Slide layouts define the reading order and structural hierarchy. A text box you manually place on a blank slide has no semantic meaning — a screen reader does not know if it is a title, a subtitle, or a body paragraph.

Step 2: Add Alt Text to Every Image

For every image, chart, or diagram in your presentation:

1. Right-click the image
2. Select "Alt text"
3. Write a description that conveys the same information a sighted student gets from looking at the image

Good alt text is specific and functional:

• Instead of: "Graph" — write: "Bar chart showing enrollment growth from 2020 to 2025, with a 15 percent increase each year"
• Instead of: "Photo" — write: "Students collaborating in a chemistry lab, using safety goggles and lab coats"
• For decorative images that add no information, write "Decorative" or leave the description empty

Step 3: Use Meaningful Slide Titles

Every slide should have a unique, descriptive title. Screen reader users navigate presentations by jumping between slide titles, similar to how sighted users scan headings in a document.

• Instead of: "Continued" or "Slide 12" — use: "Three Factors Affecting Migration Patterns"
• Instead of leaving the title blank — use the title placeholder to summarize the slide's content

If you genuinely need a slide without a visible title, you can add one and position it off-screen, but the better practice is to always have a visible title.

Step 4: Check Color Contrast

Text must have sufficient contrast against its background to be readable by students with low vision or color blindness:

• Normal text: minimum 4.5:1 contrast ratio
• Large text (18pt or 14pt bold): minimum 3:1 contrast ratio

Avoid conveying information through color alone. If you use red to indicate incorrect answers and green for correct ones, add a symbol or text label as well.

Step 5: Use Built-In Lists and Tables

When you need a list, use the built-in bullet or numbered list formatting rather than manually typing dashes or numbers. This creates proper list structure that screen readers can announce.

For data tables, use Google Slides' built-in table tool rather than arranging text boxes in a grid. Mark the first row as a header row where possible.

Step 6: Add Captions or Transcripts for Media

If your slides contain embedded audio or video:

• Add captions to all video content
• Provide a transcript as a linked document or in the speaker notes
• Describe any visual-only information in the audio narration

Step 7: Review Reading Order

Google Slides reads content in the order objects were placed on the slide, which may not match the visual layout. To check and fix reading order:

1. Click on a slide
2. Go to View and then Accessibility
3. Review the order of elements and rearrange if needed

Step 8: Share in Accessible Formats

When distributing slides:

• Share the native Google Slides link (not a PDF export) when possible — Google Slides has better built-in accessibility than exported PDFs
• If you must export to PDF, check that the exported file retains the structure (headings, alt text, reading order)
• Provide slides before class so students using assistive technology can follow along

Quick Checklist

• Every slide has a unique, descriptive title
• Every image has meaningful alt text
• Text contrast ratios meet WCAG minimums
• Lists use built-in formatting
• Reading order matches visual layout
• Media has captions or transcripts
• Slides are shared in native format when possible

It Takes Five Minutes

Most of these practices add less than a minute per slide to your workflow. Once they become habit, accessible slide creation takes no more time than inaccessible slide creation. Your students — all of them — will benefit from clearer, better-structured presentations.