Introduction
Using numbered or bulleted lists in your content can be a very useful way of breaking up complex information, making it easier to read and follow.
Numbered lists are generally used for step-by-step guides, and bullet point lists for all other types of list content. If you are not sure which one you should use, use a bullet point list.
Why it matters
Using properly formatted numbered or bulleted lists tells assistive technology valuable information including:
- where the list starts and finishes
- how many items are in the list
- what list item the user is currently on
- it also allows the user to skip the list if they do not want it read out in full
If proper formatting is not used the assistive technology will read out the text as sentences. Often bullet points are very brief, so there is a high chance the wording will make little or no sense out of context.
How to do it
Simply click the bulleted or numbered list icon in the content block ribbon to start typing a list. When you are finished press ‘enter’ twice and it will take you to the next paragraph.
Lists within lists
You will see on this website that we often indent sub-lists within lists, this is useful when each point you are making has multiple clarification points.
To create this press ‘enter’ after your text and then ‘tab’ which will move the text to the right and create a new list within the existing one. Once you have typed all the sub-points you need, you can press ‘enter’ twice to get back to your original list. You can also press ‘enter’ twice to exit the list tool when you are finished writing.
The same rules apply to these sub-lists – they must use the proper formatting, and should not be single item lists. If you only have one sub-point to make simply add it as a second sentence on the original point.
Lists of links
If you have several links side by side, always display them in a bulleted list, this makes it much easier for assistive technology users to read and understand them.
Try to avoid creating too many levels as this can be extremely difficult to understand for assistive technology users.
Example of a list within a list
- This is the first list item
- This is a sub-point relating to the first item
- This is a second sub-point
- This is the next item on the original list. This one only has one sub-point so it can be added as a second sentence.