Overview

Many of us are self taught on the authoring tools we use, and as a result we've stumbled across ways to make our content look the way we want without realizing that there may be a better tool that yields the same (and more accessible) result.

This lesson will address when to use which tools for organizing the layout of a document or page.

Core Concepts

Tables

Tables should only be used to organize data, not for layout. When using a table, you want to be sure to provide a caption and to define the top row and/or first column as headers. This ensures that the data in the table is connected to the labels in the row/column.

Sometimes, people use tables when they should be using columns. Tables are read from left to right, top to bottom. This makes them very difficult to navigate if the table is used as more of a layout tool (and especially if cells are merged). Grade scales often fall victim to this practice:

Grade Scale
A +	98 - 100%	B	86 - 88%	C -	74 - 76%
A	95 - 97%	B -	83 - 85%	D +	71 - 73%
A -	92 - 94%	C +	80 - 82%	D	63 - 66%
B +	89 - 91%	C	77 - 79%	D -	60 - 62%
F	Below 60%

Audio of table: A +, 98 - 100%, B, 86 - 88%, C -, 74 - 76%, A, 95 - 97%, B -, 83 - 85%, D +, 71 - 73%...

Reading this table from left to right is fairly nonsensical when we think about the way someone would most likely interact with the information. For information like this that is meant to be read vertically first, then horizontally, columns are a much better option than putting the information in a table.

Columns

If you have content that you want to chunk into sections that are placed side by side, format them as columns. Do not put text on one line and use the tab key to create a new section (a text to speech technologies will read it one line at a time from left to right). Information may appear to be organized vertically, but it can only be navigated horizontally when arranged in a table or by using the tab key.

Lists

Sometimes folks use dashes, asterisks, or other symbols to identify items in a list. However, when you use list tools to build lists - whether bulleted or numbered - folks using screen readers are informed that they've reached a list. Additionally, the screen reader will announce how many items are in the list.

Further, when lists are formatted correctly, the content author can avoid needing to renumber a list if an item is added midway or removed.

Text Boxes

In general, avoid using text boxes in documents, PowerPoints, and spreadsheets. Text boxes isolate a portion of text from the rest of the document. As a result, users of assistive technology may not be able to access the information in the text box. In some cases, screen readers will not call out that there is a text box present.

If information is important, always make sure it is included in the main text of the document.

Spacing/Layout

Many people will use the tab key, space bar, and blank lines or text boxes to move text around and have it display just as they'd like. However, using these tools to format a document or page may cause accessibility problems. Here are some things to consider:

Extra Spaces

If there are a series of spaces in a document, someone may assume they've reached the end of a document (and it becomes a formatting nightmare if you add more text or change the font size). To avoid this, use page breaks if you're trying to keep content on one page and use the increase and decrease indent tools to move text over (rather than tabbing or using multiple spaces).

Paragraph Spacing

Many people will use blank lines to create spaces between text. As we've already mentioned, it's better to avoid creating blank spaces when you can.

Depending on where you are building your content, there are simple ways to add space that doesn't involve creating blank lines of text.