Accessible tables help people using screen readers or keyboard navigation understand data accurately. Without clear structure, a screen reader can’t tell what each cell means, leading to confusion or misinformation.
Table is used for data, not layout
Used actual Insert Table tool (not tabs/spaces)
Table has clear column headers
Top row is marked or formatted as a header
Always use the built-in table tools to define captions and headers—not just bold text.
No merged or split cells used unnecessarily
Table includes Alt Text or summary where possible
Data is presented clearly without relying only on color
Using tables for page layout means you're inserting a table not to display data, but to control where content sits on the page, like:
Putting an image in one cell and text in another
Forcing alignment or spacing using rows and columns
Using blank cells to create visual white space or padding
This practice is bad for accessibility because it misreads screen readers, breaks keyboard navigation, and can be inflexible in mobile devices. Instead, use paragraph alignment, columns, or text boxes if you're formatting text and images. Use tools designed for layout (e.g., styles, grids, sections) — not tables.
Contact TLT for help! We can help with Design Plus to convert tables to columns.
In the context of tables, "captions" can be considered a title. It's a short description of the table’s purpose or content that helps users quickly understand what the table is about without having to scan all the rows and columns.
Example: “Quarterly Sales by Region, 2025.”
*We recommend using the Canvas table properties tool to show the caption of the table on the page as well. See below.
Headers are the labels for rows and columns and identify what each row and column represents, so users know how to interpret the data. In Canvas, you need to define every column and/or row that is serving as a header.
Besides options described in the Accessibility Tools in Canvas page, you can use the native Canvas editor (highly recommended video 2 minutes): Creating Accessible Canvas Tables