Accessible Lists in Word

Accessible Lists in Word Documents

Lists are a helpful way to organize and present information clearly for all users. They make documents easier to read, scan, and understand by breaking up text, highlighting key points, and showing order when needed. For screen reader users, it’s important to ensure that lists are designated clearly so they can navigate content effectively.

This resource provides guidance to help you create Word documents that are more accessible in accordance with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.1

 

Making bulleted lists accessible

Use the built-in bullet feature in Word to create lists rather than just hyphens or asterisks in front of listed items. This is because using the built-in feature creates code that will tell screen reader devices to announce that a list is coming. If you just type in special characters before list items, a screen reader device will just read those characters in front of every list item. You can imagine how confusing this might be for a user who relies on this device to make sense of text!

Use bullets for lists where items are not in a specific order, as in the example below.  

Why lists are important:

  • Improve readability
  • Highlight key information
  • Organize content
  • Enhance accessibility

 

Making numbered lists accessible

Use the built-in numbering feature in Word to create lists rather than just typing numbers in front of listed items. This is because using the built-in feature creates code that will tell screen reader devices to announce that a list is coming. If you just type in numbers before list items, a screen reader will read those numbers but users will not have the context telling them that this is a list of items. 

Use numbers for lists where items need to appear in a specific order, like step-by-step instructions, as in the example below.

How to create accessible lists

  1. Decide whether you need numbers or bullets.
  2. Select the appropriate tool in Word.
  3. Begin typing your list.

 

Create bulleted and numbered lists in Word

You can find both the bullet and number features within the Paragraph group in the Home tab. It may appear on your ribbon as seen below.

Screenshot of a Microsoft Word toolbar showing text formatting options. The toolbar includes font selection, font size, bold, italic, and bullet/numbered list buttons, with the numbered list button highlighted by a red circle

Once you have decided whether your content is better suited to bullets or numbers, click on your choice and begin typing. Word will automatically start bulleting or numbering your content. Hitting enter will take you to the next line and a new bullet or number will appear. 

If you have already created text and want to convert it to a list, highlight the text and select the list feature you want to use. Word will automatically convert the text to a bulleted or numbered list. You may need to use the Enter key to adjust line breaks.

 

Additional Resources