You should not skip heading levels, such as using a Heading 4 after a Heading 2 with no Heading 3 between the two. There is generally just one Heading 1 per document, although it is possible to have more than one (e.g., a journal where each article is a Heading 1). Heading levels should represent the structure of the document. These Font styles will provide visual headings but not the document structure needed for navigation by assistive technology users is missing. Unfortunately, it is a common practice to create a 'heading' by highlighting the text and applying a different font, a larger font size, bold formatting, etc. However, this only works if Word's Heading styles are used. For example, screen reader users can access a list of all headings in the document, jump from heading to heading, or even navigate by heading levels (e.g., all second-level headings). Screen reader users can also navigate Word documents by headings. When encountering a lengthy Word document, sighted users often scroll and look for headings to get an idea of its structure and content.
A good heading structure is often the most important accessibility consideration in Word documents.
