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Re: Left Column and Heading Level Order

for

From: Bim Egan
Date: Jul 6, 2012 4:57PM

Hi all,

PDF and web pages don't normally have the same purpose and functionality as
one another. Most PDF files are on a single subject and don't contain
navigation panels to other related PDF files.

Each web page is also on a single subject but contains links to other pages
in the same web site and / or section of a site. The navigation isn't part
of the page topic, so shouldn't be assigned the H1 level, which is the only
level that virtually all screen readers can reach, irrespective of any
preceding heading level.

So H1 should be reserved for the main content heading, as Jared and Brian
said.

If there happen to be other headings above this in code order, then
presumably these have been provided for the convenience of screen reader
users, so that theres an easy means of reaching navigation links for
instance. Screen reader users are grateful for this aid, but not when
mathematical logic is put into play and the page has H1 at the top of all
content, such as the site name, followed by H2 for navigational sections and
main content. This just makes it very hard to locate and understand where
main content starts.

The worst I've come across was a site where so many navigational sections
preceded the main content that it took 9 key presses to reach it. That's
the visual equivalent of having no visual difference between headings, no
white space separation or any other visual clues to the whole point of the
page.

So when someone using screen reader generic heading navigation finds H2 as
the first heading on a page, they aren't disappointed or think badly of the
author, far from it, their first reaction is hope that (if this is a
navigation heading), the author will have got the rest of it right too, and
have H1 where it should be, followed by proper nesting within main content
and reverting to H2 for any other headings outside main content.

HTML5 may resolve this, but in the meantime, the system described by Jared
and Brian is the best way we have to understand the multiple section layout
of web pages.

Best,

Bim
==Bim Egan
Web Access Consultant
Find me on LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id3508313&;trk=tab_pro



.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Loretta Guarino Reid" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
To: "WebAIM Discussion List" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Sent: Friday, July 06, 2012 10:50 PM
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Left Column and Heading Level Order


On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 2:36 PM, David Ashleydale
< <EMAIL REMOVED> >wrote:

> On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 2:25 PM, James Nurthen < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>
> > WCAG2 H42 has example 2 which covers this exact scenario
> >
> > http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG-TECHS/H42.html
>
>
> Yes, and that's one of the things that was confusing me. The "sufficient"
> technique you linked to above has an example where the Hs are not in
> order.
> However, there is also an "advisory" technique (
> http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20120103/G141) that specifies
> putting the headings in order and not skipping levels.
>
> Since this is just advisory though, I assume it means that a web page
> author can claim WCAG Level A conformance and not do it.
>

Yes, David, this is correct.


> Still, it seems like a good thing to strive for.
>
> Thanks,
> David
> > > >