Headings

Do

Do Not

Things to remember

Clear headings can help to make Word documents easier to navigate and meet accessibility standards.
Screen reader users can ‘skim’ the document by just reading a list of headings. This makes it easier for the user to find what they want – This only works if the author has used heading styles.
Your document title should be Heading1
- There should only be one Heading 1 in the document.
- Section headings would be Heading2 with any sub-headings nested in order
Do not skip heading levels, for example from H2 to H4. Screen reader users may navigate using a list of headings – a missed heading level can make this confusing.
Avoid using underline on heading styles to reduce potential confusion – underlined text in digital content is generally understood to indicate a clickable link

Titles

Document/File Title

The title is not automatically set against the properties of the document/file.

This is an important step as this text is what will display in the browser tab title. If this is not done then it will display the filename by default which likely wont provide any context for those using assistive technology for what the document is.

To set the title for this in Word, go to File>Info>Properties and fill in Add a title:

On-page Title

In the pre-set style, use Heading1 for your main (on-page) document title rather than the style Title.

Heading1 (paragraph level 1) should only be used once in your document.

The title should be as text on the page. If you want to move the position of text, use the layout options.

Do not use a text box, table or an image for the title text.

Change How Styles Look

Styles have pre-set looks in Word but you can modify them to look how you want automatically each time the are selected.

Hover over the style level you want, right-click and choose modify. This will bring up a menu.

In the formatting sections you can set the font, text size, colour and alignment.

If you want to add numbering or shading to your style click the dropdown at the bottom left of the box called Format and select the relevant option:

Font

- In addition to the formatting in the main box you can add text effects
  - Avoid using all caps – this can be harder to read and could be interpreted as shouting
  - Avoid using underline on heading styles to reduce potential confusion – underlined text in digital content is generally understood to indicate a clickable link

Paragraph

- To set any indentation and spacing of the text

Border

- If you want to add a border or shading to the heading text – use this if you want a box around the text (do not use tables)

Numbering

- If your heading should be included in a list structure automatically

Creating your own style

Using the same options as above, you can set up your own styles the way you want them to look without over-writing the pre-set styles.

You can also use this if your document has many sections and you want the stylings of the same levels to look different in the different sections.

If you do create your own style you must set the level of the heading so that assistive technology knows what heading level it is.

Setting the heading level

When modifying a style (or creating new)

Open the styles panel and choose create new at the bottom of the panel ot right-click on the style you want to modify
Select Format (bottom‑left corner) and choose Paragraph.
Under General, set the Outline Level to the correct heading level (heading2 is Level 2, heading3 is Level 3, and so on).

Outline Level to match the heading level you need.

Questions/Help with documents

If you have any questions or would like help formatting your document, contact website@argyll-bute.gov.uk

For a more detailed explanation please refer to the Microsoft guidelines on how to create accessible headings.