Did you know that some people navigate websites, documents, and other digital resources without a mouse? According to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), people with mobility and visual challenges, as well as individuals with temporary injuries or chronic conditions, often use a keyboard to interact with digital content. 

Before you send out that document, follow these two crucial tips to improve its accessibility for your audience members, whether they use a keyboard or another device for navigation:

Use Headings to Organize Content

Imagine opening a report and wanting to move to the Methods section. If the document were only 1 page, using the down arrow key to navigate to that page may be relatively easy. However, what if the document were 10 pages or more? Instead of arrowing down line-by-line for ten pages, with headings, we can mark the major sections and subsections of the document, allowing folks to jump to any part with a few keystrokes.

Specifically, there are four commonly used headings that map the relationship between sections when used in the proper order:

1. Heading 1: Marks the document title (typically on the first line). Use only one Heading 1 per document.
   (Note: While it may be tempting to use the Title Style, this is not accessible to most screen readers and should be avoided).
2. Heading 2: Indicates the major section within the document.
3. Heading 3: Used for sub-sections within Heading 2 sections
4. Heading 4: Indicates sub-sub-sections in a document.

Wondering how to make a line of text a heading? In the Home Tab, locate the Styles menu. Place your cursor on the text describing a section name and select the correct heading style from the menu.

Even better, you can use keyboard shortcuts to save time:

• Heading 1: Ctrl+Alt+1 (PC) or Cmd+Option+1 (Mac)
• Heading 2: Ctrl+Alt+2 (PC) or Cmd+Option+2 (Mac)
• Heading 3: Ctrl+Alt+3 (PC) or Cmd+Option+3 (Mac)
• Heading 4: Ctrl+Alt+4 (PC) or Cmd+Option+4 (Mac)
  (Note: There’s an extra step to add this dandy shortcut to Word. Please visit Microsoft’s guide on adding custom keyboard shortcuts to learn more.)

Ensure URLs are Hyperlinked

Sometimes, we may want to share links to external resources that elaborate on the information in our documents. Hyperlinks allow us to attach a URL to a string of text. When we properly format a hyperlink, the text becomes underlined and a different color. Properly formatted hyperlinks allow visitors to open the associated URL with a few keystrokes, rather than using a mouse to copy the link’s address into a browser.

To add a hyperlink:

1. Highlight the text to which you would like to attach the URL.
   (Note: This text should describe the link’s purpose to support people in understanding where it leads and why they should explore it.)
2. Press Ctrl+K (PC) or Cmd+K (Mac) to open the hyperlink field.
3. Paste the URL Ctrl+V (PC) or Cmd+V (Mac) into the Address bar.

More About Keyboard Navigation Coming Soon

Want to learn more about how individuals navigate the web without a mouse and how to improve accessibility for all? Stay tuned for our #NoMouseChallenge coming up in November!