It is recommended that you type directly into the rich text editor; then use the functions in the text editor to add style and formatting. Creating the text elsewhere and attempting to copy / paste it into the text editor will bring in a lot of unnecessary HTML code and formatting, which will also introduce inaccessible content.

• If you've already pasted your text into the text editor, highlight it and click on the Tx icon in the text editor. This will remove all the formatting from your text.
• If you haven't pasted yet, then use the Paste from Word option (clipboard with W icon) when paste content from Word. Or, use the Paste as Plain Text option (clipboard with T icon) when pasting content from other places. This generally removes some, but not all, of your formatting.

• Stick to the default font. Avoid changing the font size unless you have good reason. If you need headers within a text box, use Heading 3 (<h3> in HTML) and follow by Heading 4 in the rich text editor.
• Use bold or italics in the rich text editor (or <strong> or <em> tags in HTML) to indicate emphasis. Use these tags sparingly.
  • Avoid older-style bold <b> or italics <i> tags as they denote style rather than importance.
  • Don't use underlines for emphasis. Users will think an underline is a hyperlink.
• Don't use color as a way to convey meaning or importance. Colorblind users and screen reader may not pick up on color changes.

Use headings as indicators for sections and sub-sections in your guide. This not only provides hierarchical organization and formatting, but also makes it easy for screen readers to scan and jump to different content areas.

• Never use Heading 1 (<h1> tag in HTML) in your guide as this should only be used once for the entire page.
• Your LibGuides box titles uses Heading 2, so start with Heading 3 (<h3> tag in HTML) and then Heading 4 in rich text editor.
• If you hide a box title, you have hidden your h2.
• Higher level headings should be placed above lower level ones otherwise your hierarchy gets confused. Here is an example:
  • H3
    • H4
    • H4
• Do not use text formatting, such as font size or bold to give the visual appearance of headings. Use the paragraph format drop down in the rich text editor to assign headings.