Creating Accessible Electronic Documents and Communications

Ensure your electronic documents and digital communications are accessible.

Overview 

The Enterprise Digital Accessibility Policy requires that Commonwealth executive department electronic documents and communications be accessible. This includes document formats such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and portable document format, or PDF. Additionally, digital communications including emails, infographics, social media, and online surveys must also meet Digital Accessibility Standards.  

Digital content creators may use the following checklists to ensure their electronic documents and communications are accessible prior to distribution.  

Before you Begin

Before creating an electronic document, ask, “Should this content be a document or a webpage?” A webpage on Mass.gov, intranet, or wiki page is generally a more accessible format. Additionally, webpages can be more easily updated which saves time and resources. 

Review Digital Accessibility Fundamentals, which provides overviews and instructions for alternative text (alt text) for images, color considerations, content and typography, and document and page structure. 

If you prefer to outsource your document remediation, please use the Statewide IT Accessibility Services Contract, ITS82. 

Find the Best Format for your Content

Follow the Document Format Decision Tree and find the most accessible format for your content.

Accessibility Testing Checklists

Microsoft Word Documents  Microsoft PowerPoint Documents  Microsoft Excel Documents  PDF Documents  Social Media Posts  Emails and Newsletters  Surveys and Forms  Infographics and Data Visualizations