Wherever possible, publish content as an HTML webpage, if you do need to publish a document, it should be in addition to the webpage.

Accessibility checker

If you are using Word for Office 365 you can run the Accessibility Checker before sharing your document

Select the Review tab then Check Accessibility.

Structure

• Use Heading 1, Heading 2 etc, don't use bold to mark up your content
• Add a table of contents and summaries to longer documents
• Use page numbers and ensure all page numbers are in the same location

Content

• Keep sentences and paragraphs short
• Use a sans serif font like Arial or Helvetica and use a minimum size of 12 points
• Avoid all caps and italics
• Avoid underlining, except for links
• Use double or 1.5 line spacing

Links

Add meaningful hyperlink text. Links should convey clear and accurate information about the destination. 

For example, instead of linking to the text Click here, include the full title of the destination page.

Images

• Include alternative text with all visuals 
• In the alt text briefly describe the image and mention the existence of the text and it's intent
• Avoid using text in images as the sole method of conveying information. If you must use an image with text in it, repeat that text in the document. 

Tables

• Use a simple table structure and specify column header information
• Ensure tables don't contain split cells, merged cells or nested tables
• Don't have any completely blank rows or columns
• Add alt text to your table