Accessibility and Assistive Technology

Changing Default Headings in Microsoft Word

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If heading tags are misused, search engines and screen readers will understand how the content is structured and is prioritized on the page.

  • Search engines rely on heading and subheading tags to interpret what a website is all about.
  • Screen readers also reference heading tags to understand how page content is structured:
    • A screen reader will notice the code and tell the user a heading (e.g., beeping or chime, announcing the level, etc.).
    • Screen readers also use headings to quickly navigate through content to jump from one heading to the next.

1. Go to the styles box on the home ribbon

Microsoft home ribbon.

Right select the appropriate heading

Drop down menu from "Heading 1.”

2. Select "Modify..."

Here you will be able to change

  • Font type
  • Font size
  • Font color
  • Paragraph style for the selected heading.
Heading 1 settings with the diffferent options under the "formatting" sections highlighted

Creating Heading Hierarchy

The different heading style sizes help visual learners understand how the subtopics relate to the main topics. If you are consistent in your header level structure, your audience who use visual cues can quickly scan your issues on your document based on text size:

  • Header 1 (Heading Level 1) is the largest font (Page title)
  • Header 2 is a larger font size than Header 3
  • Header 3 is a larger font size than Header 4

Additional Resource

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