Excel accessibility

On this page you can find information on:

Templates

There are prebuild templates that can save time and improve accessibility. Templates support accessibility in areas including:

  • extra areas of white space
  • strong colour contrast
  • monochrome for people who cannot see colours
  • clear labels for worksheets. 

Worksheet labels

When using Excel, your worksheets should have clear and descriptive labels. Names are automatically generated in Excel with 'sheet 1', 'sheet 2'. 

Blank worksheets

Blank worksheets should be removed because they can be confusing.

Tables

Tables need to be carefully named and formatted so everyone can understand the data. 

You should:

  • keep them simple
  • never use merged cells
  • have a header row
  • have an increased font size for the header
  • avoid using tables to structure your content
  • provide a clear explanation for what a table is going to show.

Avoid hiding rows or columns

If you need to hide information, you will need to give guidance in the first cell of the worksheet above anything else, on what rows or columns are hidden and how to unhide them. 

This is a requirement to pass accessibility regulations. 

Avoid freezing panes

If you do need to freeze panes, you'll need to give guidance on how to turn this off. 

This is a requirement to pass accessibility regulations. 

Leaving cells blank

If cells are left empty it can make it difficult for people with assistive technology to understand where the table starts and ends. 

If you need to leave cells blank you should:

  • mark the table correctly
  • leave a note in the first column explaining why some of the cells are left blank.

If there are multiple reasons why a cell is blank, you will need to describe this. 

Wrap text

All text should be visible and clearly spaced out. 

Document contrast

Regardless of the format of your document, your document colour contrast should be strong. To do this you should:

  • use a dark text colour on a pale background. This is what works best for users, but some users may prefer a pale font on a dark background
  • use a blank background to make it easier for the user to read a document.

Colours and shapes

When you're putting your document together you should not use colours and shapes alone to share a message.

Background colours

It's better to leave the background of your spreadsheet blank rather than using a background fill. If you want to remove the grey grid lines, you can:

  • click 'view'
  • untick 'gridlines'. 

Language

Screen readers support multiple languages, so it's important to define the language of your document. This is so when someone is using a screen reader it:

  • identifies the language
  • pronounces the content correctly.

Images

When using images in documents, it's important to think about where you're going to place them. If you place images at random, it can interrupt the flow of text and make it harder to read. 

Images and logos need alternative text (see more below). 

Accessible charts

Creating accessible charts helps people to understand complex information easier. 

For people with low vision, you need to:

  • use words carefully
  • create it in a way that makes it easier to understand. 

Charts should have:

  • a clear title
  • alternative text
  • a key or legend to explain what the chart shows
  • clear axis and data labels to be able to understand what the chart shows.

Alternative text

All images need alternative text.

However, it can be difficult to add alternative text to complex images. This includes:

  • infographics
  • illustrations
  • charts
  • graphs. 

For images that are complex, you should:

  • add a short description in the alt text
  • add a longer description in the text after. 

The longer description should:

  • give a description in greater detail 
  • explain what the image is showing, so if the image were removed it would describe what it would show.

An image can also be marked as 'decorative'. You should only do this if it's not giving any information that someone using assistive technology would need to know.

Hyperlinks

You should use descriptive words for hyperlinks.

Never use non-descriptive words, such as 'click here'.

A good example is: Pay your Medway Council Tax online

A bad example is: www.medway.gov.uk/info/200131/council-tax/13/pay-your-council-tax

Another bad example is: Click here for more.

Naming files

When creating a file name:

  • use hyphens to separate the words
  • avoid spaces as these will be automatically replaced with characters
  • do not include the name of the person who created the file
  • do not include the date the file was created.

For example:

Use: the-big-splash-timetable

Avoid: the big splash timetable JRichards 25 nov’ (the’ #big’ ’splash’ ’timetable’ ’jrichards’ ’25’ ’nov).