Using some basic principles of good layout can go a long way towards helping to make your documents more accessible. Properly designed documents will not only be accessible for people who use screen magnification or screen readers but will also improve the readability for everyone.
Where to start?
The key to producing a user friendly document is to employ an uncluttered layout. All the different elements of your page such as headings, body text and graphics should be separated by sufficient white space to avoid confusion.
Where possible all the different elements should be contained within the main body of your document. This is because screen reader software may fail to recognise any objects such as images or text boxes which are separate elements on the page.
Justification
Generally, headings and paragraph text which is left justified is easier to read and navigate. However, most users will happily cope with centred headings.
Wherever possible, try to avoid:
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Fully justified paragraphs with equal left and right margins as this often results in unequal spaces between words.
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Right justified text with a ragged left edge. This can make it difficult to find the start of the next line.
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Centering whole blocks of text.
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Wrapping text around the right hand edge of an image as this results in a ragged left edge to the text. Conversely wrapping text around the left hand edge of an image gives a uniform starting point for each line.
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Setting text over graphics. This can make it very difficult to read for partially sighted people.
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Blocks of text all set in capital letters.
Headers and footers
As a general rule headers and footers are not spoken by screen reader software unless the user knows they are there and chooses to have them read. Therefore, if your headers and footers contain any essential information it is good accessibility practice to also ensure that this information is available elsewhere within the main text of the document.
Multiple columns
Multiple columns can be accessible providing they are produced using facilities built into the word processor to ensure they are properly formatted. If not produced properly, multiple columns can cause confusion to readers using screen magnification and can lead to the text being read out of logical order by screen readers.
A good rule is to keep to two columns per A4 page and to ensure that you have a wide gutter between the columns so that readers do not inadvertently read across the gap.
Widows and Orphans
Widows and Orphans can interrupt the natural flow of text and are best avoided. Widows may be found where the first line of a paragraph starts right at the bottom of a page. Similarly, orphans occur where the last line of a paragraph or a single word finds itself at the very start of a page.
A little planning goes a long way
Giving a little thought to the layout of your word processed document can help to ensure that it conveys the desired meaning to as wide an audience as possible including those using access technology such as screen readers or magnification.
Further related information can be found on the Design, Styling and Tables pages.