Digital Documents

You have options when creating new documents for digital distribution or updating existing documents. First, determine your goals for the content. Then, determine the best format. If you choose a digital document, take steps to ensure its accessibility.

Identify Your Goals

Ask yourself the following questions about the content’s purpose, your audience’s needs and usage patterns, and your strategic goals for the project:

What are your goals for this content, and what does success look like for this project?
Who is your primary audience, and what action do you want them to take?
How will this content be distributed?
Will readers primarily access this on mobile or desktop?
Do you need analytics on engagement and user behavior?
Is social sharing or linking to specific sections important?
How important is search engine discoverability?

Choose the Best Format

Webpage (HTML Format)

The best choice is often to post the content directly on your NIU departmental website or news site. Doing so ensures your content is:

Accessible, since it uses standard web templates
Optimized for a variety of screen sizes
Professional in appearance and in compliance with brand standards
Searchable by Google and other search engines
Shareable on social media
Print-friendly

Web content can also be a source of analytics on user engagement, which is not possible with documents. Analytics are data points that can help you understand which content resonates most with your audience and optimize future communications based on user behavior.

Microsoft Document

If your content works best as a document, Microsoft formats provide:

Access to built-in tools to help ensure accessibility
Professional design that meets brand standards
Ability to be hosted for browser viewing (instead of prompting a file download)
Better support for assistive technologies and better user experience than PDFs

PDF

PDFs offer poor usability for all audiences and can be a barrier for people with disabilities. The process of making them accessible can be difficult and time-consuming. If your project requires a PDF format due to legal or other considerations, please contact webstrategy@niu.edu to discuss options.

Hybrid Strategy

Depending on your content’s purpose, a hybrid strategy might work best. This approach involves creating both primary web content to inform your audience and an accessible document to meet download needs.

Creating Accessible Digital Documents

Here are some ways to improve the accessibility of digital documents you create. For the most accurate, current information, refer to the directions provided by the software developer.

Microsoft Word

Headings: Use built-in styles for headings instead of applying bold or other text formatting.
Tables: Keep tables simple and use table headers.
Visual elements (shapes/images): Provide meaningful alternative (alt) text that describes the image (not needed if solely decorative).
Link text: Create meaningful, unique link text. Avoid vague text such as “click here.”

Read Microsoft’s Word Accessibility Tutorial

Microsoft Excel

Index worksheet: Create an index worksheet to guide users through documents with multiple sheets.
Cell A1: Make sure text is present in cell A1, which is where screen readers start reading.
Tables: Use simple tables and add table headers.
Empty rows, columns and cells: Avoid empty rows, columns and cells because they can cause users to miss information.

Read Microsoft's Excel Accessibility Tutorial

Microsoft PowerPoint

Slide master: This feature allows you to create accessible layouts.
Sections: Organizing long presentations into manageable segments increases accessibility.
Slide titles: Ensure every slide has a unique title.
Reading order: Be sure all of the elements on each slide are in the proper order.

Read Microsoft's PowerPoint Accessibility Tutorial

Digital Content

Contact Us

Accessibility at NIU
accessibility@niu.edu