Introduction

Using styles in documents and web pages is more than just a formatting choice—it’s a key part of creating accessible content. Styles provide structure, consistency, and meaning, helping all users navigate and understand information more easily. When applied correctly, styles enhance readability, support assistive technologies such as screen readers, and ensure your content is inclusive and compliant with accessibility standards. Please watch the video below for more information.

Duration: 1:48 | Click the CC icon to display closed captions.

Video Transcript

What are Styles?

Styles refer to the predefined formatting settings in documents and web content, such as Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Canvas, etc., that determine how text and other elements appear. These settings control aspects like font size, color, spacing, and structure. Styles are commonly used to ensure consistency and readability. Rather than manually adjusting formatting each time, styles apply a cohesive format to headings, paragraphs, lists, and other elements. Examples include Heading 1, Heading 2, Normal Text, or custom styles like Quote or Code Block. For this chapter, we will focus on the following elements of styles: headings, blank lines, line spacing, indents, and hanging indents.

How do Styles Help with Accessibility?

Using styles in documents isn’t just about making text look nice—it’s essential for accessibility. Styles, like headings and line spacing, provide structure and meaning to your content, which is especially important for people using screen readers or other assistive technologies.

When you use proper heading styles (like Heading 1, Heading 2), screen readers can navigate the document by jumping between sections. This makes it faster and easier for users to find what they need, just like someone skimming visually. These same heading styles also allow you to automatically generate a table of contents, making navigation even easier for all readers.

Styles also help keep your formatting consistent. This is important for users with cognitive disabilities, who benefit from predictable layouts and clear organization. Instead of using bold or larger font sizes to fake a heading, using actual styles communicates the purpose of each part of your document.

Another key benefit is that styles carry semantic meaning. They tell assistive tools what each part of the document is—a title, a quote, a list—so users get the full context, not just how it looks.

Styles also improve readability. Proper line spacing, indents, and spacing between paragraphs make content easier to follow, especially for users with low vision or dyslexia.

Finally, using styles helps meet accessibility standards like WCAG and Section 508. That means your content is more inclusive and better suited for everyone.

In short, styles make your content easier to navigate, understand, and read for all users.

Key Style Components That Impact Accessibility

Headings

Headings provide structure to a document by organizing content into sections and subsections. They help all readers scan a page, but they are especially crucial for users of screen readers, who rely on heading styles (like Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.) to navigate through content quickly.

• Use built-in heading styles, not just bold or large text, to indicate sections within a document.
• Follow a logical order (e.g., Heading 1 for main titles, Heading 2 for subsections).
• Avoid skipping levels (don’t go from Heading 1 to Heading 4 without Heading 2 or 3 in between).

Properly styled headings also allow you to generate a table of contents automatically, further supporting easy navigation. Here are the standard headings”

1. Heading 1 – used for document or page title
2. Heading 2 – best for major headings (level 1)
3. Heading 3 – best for subheadings (level 2)
4. Heading 4 – best for sub-subheadings (level 3)
5. Heading 5 – best for a subheading to the sub-subheading (level 4)

Blank lines

Blank lines are often used to add visual space between sections, but inserting multiple blank lines manually (by pressing Enter repeatedly) can cause problems for screen readers. Use paragraph spacing styles instead of adding blank lines manually. Extra blank lines may be read aloud as “blank” or “empty” by assistive technologies, interrupting the reading flow. Controlling spacing with formatting styles ensures a cleaner, more consistent layout that works better for all users. If you prefer not to modify a style, you can use the “soft” return option, which is accessible and readable by screen readers.

A soft return is a line break that moves text to a new line without starting a new paragraph. It’s typically created by pressing Shift + Enter (instead of just Enter or Return, which creates a hard return or paragraph break).

Key Differences

When to Use a Soft Return

• In headings or titles that need to appear on two lines.
• In addresses or poetry, where line breaks are needed without extra spacing.
• When writing form labels or short lines within the same paragraph block.

Accessibility Tip

Use soft returns sparingly and only when necessary. Overuse can confuse screen readers and affect document structure. If you need extra space between paragraphs or elements, use paragraph spacing styles instead.

Line spacing

Line spacing refers to the vertical space between lines of text. Appropriate spacing can significantly improve readability for users with visual impairments, dyslexia, or cognitive disabilities. Use at least 1.15 to 1.5 line spacing to make text easier to read. Avoid single spacing in long paragraphs or blocks of text, which can feel dense and overwhelming. Apply spacing through styles rather than adjusting manually for consistency and accessibility. The default line spacing in Microsoft Word and Google Docs is 1.15. In Canvas, the line spacing is set for a larger space and cannot be altered.

Indents

Indents are used to mark the beginning of a new paragraph or to set off certain types of text, such as quotes or lists.

• Use styles to apply first-line indents rather than adding spaces or tabs manually.
• Consistent indentation helps readers understand the structure and flow of content.

Manual indentation with the space bar can break document formatting and confuse assistive technologies.

Hanging Indents

A hanging indent occurs when the first line of a paragraph is aligned to the left, and all following lines are indented. This is commonly used in bibliographies, reference lists, and some types of lists.

• Use hanging indents to clearly separate and organize entries, especially in academic or reference materials.
• Create them using style settings, not manual spacing or tabs, to ensure compatibility with screen readers.

Hanging indents make it easier to scan and locate items, improving both usability and accessibility. The standard depth of a hanging indent is half an inch (0.5”).

Summary

Styles play a crucial role in making documents accessible. They provide structure for navigation, improve readability, and add semantic meaning that assistive technologies rely on. By using styles correctly—especially for headings, spacing, and indentation—you create content that is clear, consistent, and inclusive for all users. Our next chapters offer demonstrations on how to apply styles in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and Canvas.