Google Docs includes options for adding accessibility information to documents to support access by individuals with disabilities. Improving the accessibility of Google Docs can be accomplished by incorporating the following practices into your authoring process.

Headings and Structure

As described in our article Use Headings and Lists in Support of Accessibility, you should use heading styles correctly to structure the information on the page. use them in order and don't skip a level.

To apply headings in a Google Doc, see Google's documentation Add a title, heading, or table of contents in a document.  The Make a title or heading section describes how to add headings.

You should not pick headings solely based on their appearance (e.g., "I want my title to be smaller, so I'll pick a H3") - instead, use them based on the structure of the page. If you'd like to change their appearance, you can do so. 

Lists

Lists (also discussed in our article  Use Headings and Lists in Support of Accessibility) provide a structured order to a group of connected or sequential content. A numbered or bulleted list may present the same information more effectively than simple data tables with fewer steps.

1. Highlight the grouped list of items.
2. In the toolbar, select the appropriate list style (i.e, numbered list or bulleted list).

Images

As described in our article Create Accessible Images with Alt Text, you must add descriptive "alt text" to all images. Our article describes how to determine what text to include. Here's how to do it in Google Docs:

Adding Alt Text

1. Select and right-click the image.
2. Select Alt Text.
3. In the Description field, provide a brief and concise description and select OK.

Hyperlinks

Documents containing hyperlinks to websites or other online resources can be improved by including hyperlink text that is understood by the reader. For more information about choosing good link text, see our article Creating Accessible Links.

1. Place the cursor anywhere on the desired hyperlink. Right-click the hyperlink.
2. Select Link.
3. Under Text to Display, write the descriptive text for the hyperlink. Keep the text name short and descriptive.
4. Select Apply.

Color

Color can be an effective method to communicate ideas and draw attention to information. Ensuring there is sufficient contrast as well as using color in combination with other formatting can support a diverse campus community, including individuals with visual disabilities. For more information on using color, please review Color Use and Accessibility.

Google Docs to PDF

At this time Google Docs are not able to produce accessible PDF versions. If you export your Google Docs file as a PDF document, the accessibility information will not be included in the resulting PDF version. Instead, download your Google Doc as a Microsoft Word file to run the Accessibility Checker and convert to an accessible PDF.

1. In the toolbar menu, select File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx).
2. In Microsoft Word, run the Accessibility Checker, and address any accessibility issues before exporting to a PDF.