How to make Word documents accessible

Bookmarks help users skip to the content they need in a long document. They do not replace headings - they are just a helpful addition.

You don't have to add bookmarks to your document. But we suggest adding bookmarks to documents with over 21 pages.

You may also want to add bookmarks so you can add internal links to your document. These are links that take users to a specific place in your document.

Why long documents need bookmarks

Long Word documents are hard to use for people using screen readers. Bookmarks help to break up your content so people can easily skip to the content they need.

How to add bookmarks in Word

Microsoft Support show you how to add or delete bookmarks in a Word document.

We suggest you add a bookmark at each main sub-heading in your document. These are the text headings you will have formatted as 'Heading 2's. They signify the start of a new section in your document.

Try to make the bookmark name the same as the heading text. If you need to separate words, you can use an underscore (_).

If you convert your Word document to a PDF, you should make sure your bookmarks carry over to the PDF. Follow our advice on how to convert a Word document to a PDF.