At Alpen Lily Web Studio, we talk a lot about website accessibility, not just as a best practice, but as a responsibility. One area that often slips through the cracks is document accessibility, especially when it comes to PDFs created from Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. If you’re posting downloadable documents on your website, and accessibility matters to you, it’s essential to know how to make documents usable for everyone.
Table of contents
Why it matters
PDFs are widely used for forms, reports, brochures, and more, but many PDFs created in Microsoft Office aren’t accessible out of the box. If a screen reader can’t navigate the content, or if the structure doesn’t allow for keyboard navigation, you’re unintentionally excluding users with disabilities—and potentially creating legal risk.
The good news? Microsoft Office has built-in tools to help make documents accessible before you ever hit “Save as PDF.”
Step 1: Use Microsoft’s Accessibility Checker
Before exporting to PDF, run Microsoft’s Accessibility Checker. It’s available in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Just go to:
Review > Check Accessibility
The tool flags common issues like:
- Missing alt text on images
- Poor contrast in text or tables
- Missing document structure (like headings)
- Non-descriptive link text
Each flag comes with a “Why fix this?” explanation and step-by-step help. Learn more about this step.
Step 2: Use Proper Headings and Styles
Don’t just change font size to make something look like a heading, use built-in styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.). This ensures the document has a clear structure that screen readers can navigate.
Using styles also enables bookmarks in the final PDF, which helps with keyboard navigation and improves usability for everyone.
Step 3: Add Descriptive Alt Text
Images need alt text to be meaningful for screen reader users. Microsoft makes this easy: right-click on an image, choose Format Picture > Alt Text, and write a short, descriptive sentence.
If an image is decorative and doesn’t convey information, mark it as decorative so screen readers skip it.
Step 4: Save as PDF (Correctly)
When your document is ready, use:
File > Save As > PDF > Options…
In the Options dialog, you can check “Document structure tags for accessibility.”
This ensures that your exported PDF retains headings, alt text, and reading order. Without this step, even the most accessible Word doc can become an unusable PDF.
Optional but Helpful: Save as DAISY
For organizations needing high levels of document accessibility (such as government or education), the DAISY add-in lets you save Word docs in a format optimized for screen readers and audio playback.
Resources for your team
Microsoft offers free, on-demand video training on document accessibility. If you work with teams or clients who regularly produce documents for your site, this is a great place to start:
Accessibility video training playlist.
As web developers, we can code all the right accessibility features into your website. But if linked content like PDFs isn’t accessible, the user experience falls short. Making accessible PDFs isn’t just about compliance, it’s about respect for all users.
Need help reviewing your PDFs or setting up a workflow for accessibility? Get in touch: https://alpenlily.com/contact/