Digital Accessibility

Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5200 USA

Presentations

Presentations like PowerPoint and Google Slides should be easy for everyone to view, understand and navigate. Using clear slide titles, readable text, descriptive links and alt text for images helps people using assistive technologies—and improves clarity for all audiences. Use the resources on this page to learn how to create accessible presentations.

Who is responsible?

Anyone who creates, uploads, edits, or shares presentations for instruction, communication, marketing, promotion or other academic or business purposes is responsible for ensuring those materials are accessible.

What standards do you need to meet?

All presentations must comply with the required WCAG 2.1 AA standards. These guidelines are referenced in WMU’s Web Accessibility Policy and in the ADA Title II federal regulations.

What to do? (Checklist)

Use the following best practices to help ensure your presentations are accessible to all users.

  • Use built-in slide layouts: Select predefined layouts on the "Home" tab rather than creating custom text boxes. This ensures proper reading order for screen readers and maintains structural hierarchy.
  • Add alt text to images: Right-click any image, chart or graphic, select "Edit Alt Text," and write a concise description of the visual content. Decorative images should be marked as decorative so screen readers skip them.
  • Ensure sufficient color contrast: Use a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Tools like the Color Contrast Analyzer can verify compliance. Avoid red-green combinations for colorblind accessibility.
  • Create descriptive hyperlink text: Instead of "click here" or pasting URLs, use meaningful link text like "view the full report" that describes the destination when read out of context.
  • Use accessible fonts and formatting: Choose sans-serif fonts like Arial, Calibri or Verdana at a minimum 18-point size. Avoid excessive italics, all caps or underlining (which can be confused with links).
  • Add closed captions to videos: For embedded videos, include captions or transcripts. In PowerPoint, use the "Insert Captions" feature or ensure videos have embedded captions before inserting.
  • Structure content with heading styles: Use the built-in title and subtitle placeholders for each slide. For complex slides, apply heading styles (Home > Paragraph > Section) to create a proper hierarchy for screen reader navigation.
  • Make tables accessible: Designate header rows in tables by selecting the table, going to "Table Design," and checking "Header Row." Keep tables simple and avoid merged or split cells when possible.
  • Provide text alternatives for complex graphics: For charts, graphs or diagrams, add detailed alt text or include a text summary on the slide or in speaker notes explaining the data and trends shown.
  • Check accessibility with built-in tools: Run the Accessibility Checker (Review > Check Accessibility) to identify issues. Address all errors and warnings, prioritizing those marked as errors first.

What tools are available?

Live captions and transcripts (meetings, events and classes)

Use live captions in classes and events to provide real-time access for participants who are deaf or hard of hearing, English learners and anyone in noisy environments.