PowerPoint Accessibility Checklist

Layout

• Do create the slide show using PowerPoint layouts
• Do use the Slide Master to format slides and text
• Do set reading order of slide contents so it is read in the intended order
• Do give each slide a Title

Text

Color

• Do use contrasting colors
• Don’t use color-blind color combinations (red/green is most common)
• Do use other means of conveying information in addition to color (bold, italics)

Font

• Do use 50 point or larger for Headings
• Do use 32 point or larger for Body
• Don’t use all caps

Spacing and Lists

• Don’t use Enter to control spacing between lines (use paragraph format features)
• Do use the Bullets and Numbering features (not manually typed characters like hyphens or asterisks)
• Don’t use more than 25 words per slide
• Do stay within a maximum of 7 words across and 7 lines vertically

Hyperlinks

• Do describe the purpose of the target link in the hyperlink title (not “click here” or “more”)
• Do provide full link URL
• Do add ScreenTips

Images

• Do include alt text
• Don’t use background images or watermarks
• Don’t use animated images

Objects (SmartArt, shapes, charts, tables)

• Do include alt text
• Do set wrapping style to “In line with text”
• Don’t use text boxes or WordArt
• Don’t use background images or watermarks

Tables

• Do include alt text
• Do define header rows and columns
• Don’t use merge cells

Document

• Do use the Check Accessibility feature in the Review tab