Accessible PowerPoint Slides: What to Check Before You Share

Start with information people can identify and read

Give each slide a descriptive title and keep essential wording as text rather than embedding it in a picture. Microsoft’s PowerPoint accessibility guidance recommends unique slide titles, sufficient contrast and meaningful link text. These are practical checks on whether someone can find and interpret the information.

Inspect the presentation at its likely viewing size. W3C’s guidance for presenters recommends large, readable text and visuals, with limited content on each slide. If an important qualification becomes illegible at that size, shorten the surrounding copy or change the layout instead of treating the qualification as disposable.

For example, a link labelled “Read the implementation plan” tells a reader more than “Click here”. Likewise, a slide called “Decisions needed before launch” is easier to distinguish in a deck than several slides all called “Update”.

Source: Microsoft Support — Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilitiesW3C WAI — Making Events Accessible: guidance for presenters and materials

A worked example: make status readable without colour

Imagine a fictional project update listing Site survey, Layout review and Equipment delivery. A green, amber or red dot sits beside each item, with a legend at the bottom. The reader has to distinguish the colours and match them to the legend to interpret the status. This is a teaching example, not a real project report.

Keep the item names, but put the meaning next to each one: “Site survey — Complete”, “Layout review — Awaiting decision” and “Equipment delivery — Delay risk”. The labels preserve the distinction even when someone cannot distinguish the marker colours. Colour can remain as an additional cue.

W3C’s explanation of the use-of-colour criterion says that colour should have another visible means of conveying its meaning, such as text or shape. The criterion concerns web content; the same design principle is useful for a slide, and Microsoft also recommends avoiding colour-only information in PowerPoint.

Notice the wording of the final row. “Delay risk” is different from “Delayed”. The edit makes the existing meaning explicit; it should not silently change the underlying project assessment. In a real report, retain the reporting date and agreed definitions.

The revised slide below solves the visible colour-dependence problem. It still needs checks of reading order, any visual descriptions and the delivered file. Adding three labels alone does not establish that the whole presentation is accessible.

Source: W3C WAI — Understanding Success Criterion 1.4.1: Use of Color

Check the sequence a screen reader will encounter

Visual position and reading order are separate. A title at the top of a slide is not enough if the file presents unrelated objects before it. Microsoft’s Reading Order pane lists objects in the sequence a screen reader will read them; purely decorative objects can be excluded from that sequence.

For the worked example, aim for a coherent sequence: slide title, site survey with its status, layout review with its status, equipment delivery with its status, then the reporting note. Reading all the item names first and all the status labels afterwards would make the relationships harder to follow.

Check the controls for the version of PowerPoint you use. Microsoft’s guidance documents Review > Check Accessibility and the Reading Order pane for supported desktop versions. The Selection Pane is a different interface; do not assume its list uses the same ordering convention. Review the relevant version instructions and test the resulting sequence.

Source: Microsoft Support — Make slides easier to read by using the Reading Order pane

Describe what an informative visual is there to explain

Alt text should communicate the important content and purpose of a visual. Microsoft’s alt-text guidance also distinguishes informative images from decorative ones. A decorative border should not interrupt the reading sequence, while an image carrying essential information needs an appropriate description.

Suppose the fictional status panel had to be supplied as a single image. “Three coloured dots” describes its appearance but loses its message. A more useful description would be: “Illustrative project update: site survey complete; layout review awaiting a decision; equipment delivery at risk of delay.”

That description belongs to this particular example. For a different chart or diagram, explain the relationship or finding it actually communicates, and check that any automatically suggested description is accurate. Avoid duplicating information already available as readable slide text without adding useful meaning.

Source: Microsoft Support — Everything you need to know to write effective alt text

Use the checker, then inspect the delivery format

Microsoft documents Review > Check Accessibility as a way to open the accessibility review. Resolve relevant findings and examine the slide again after changes. Treat the tool as part of the review rather than a substitute for checking whether the content makes sense.

Open the file you intend to send. Follow its links, inspect its text and check the reading sequence with a screen reader where possible. If you export a PDF, review that PDF too; a visual match to the PowerPoint file does not tell you how the document will be read or navigated.

Consider how recipients will access the material. W3C recommends accessible materials that people can adapt to their needs, and notes that shared-screen content often cannot be accessed in the same way as a directly available document. Agree an appropriate accessible format with the recipient instead of assuming a screen share or PDF is sufficient.

For a live meeting, describe the important visual information aloud. In this example, say that the layout review is awaiting a decision and the equipment delivery has a delay risk, rather than referring only to “the amber and red items”.

Source: Microsoft Support — Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilitiesW3C WAI — Making Events Accessible: guidance for presenters and materials

Include these checks in the presentation handoff

Ask the person preparing the deck to check meaning, structure and delivery alongside the visual design. For the example, a useful handoff note would be: “Keep the status labels as editable text, verify that each item is read with its status, and review the exported version before sharing.”

Accessibility needs and file behaviour vary. This review is a practical starting point, not a compliance certification. Build in time to address recipient feedback and any more specific accessibility requirements for the presentation.

• MeaningDoes essential information remain understandable without colour?
• StructureDoes every slide have a useful title and a logical reading sequence?
• VisualsDo informative images have useful descriptions, with decoration excluded appropriately?
• DeliveryHave the final file, links and recipient’s access needs been checked?