DO
DO NOT
- Tables should be used for displaying data only
- Assign a proper table style to your tables
- Make sure it has a header row assigned and if using the first column as a header makes sure this is checked too
- If you want to make something highlighted on the page, make use of the Borders tool in Word. This won’t affect screen readers like tables and text boxes do.
- Use tables for formatting/design purposes
- Use text boxes
How to format tables in Word
Go to Table > Table Styles > Choose a style to suit the table
Go to the Table Settings dropdown and choose which rows contain the headers. In this example it should be Header Row (for the top row) and First Column.
If you are using the Desktop version of Word, things will be slightly different. If you click on the table and go to Table Tools you can format your table here.
Using the Borders Tool
To highlight important content without using tables or text boxes you can use the Borders tool.
