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PDF and heading structure

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From: Claire Forbes
Date: Oct 23, 2024 7:02AM

Good morning, everyone -
I'm struggling with some PDF reviews as I'm flagging documents as non-compliant (under item 1.3.1: Heading tags are provided in appropriate sequence (<H1>, <H2>, <H3>, etc.)) because all headings in the documents are <H1> tags. I made the recommendation to tag the cover page title as <H1> and all subsequent headings as <H2>, <H3>, etc. (all headings after the cover page title visually look the same, so I didn't think the cover should be <H> and then all others <H1>)

I have verbiage from WebAIM regarding headings: "Headings create an outline for the page, similar to a term paper outline or table of contents. The <h1> describes the page as a whole (and should be similar to the page <title>). A page should typically have only one <h1>. Headings <h2> through <h6> represent increasing degrees of "indentation" in our conceptual "outline"." (https://webaim.org/techniques/semanticstructure/)

I have a table of information from Section 508.gov "<H1> Heading 1: Document's title; <H2> Heading 2: Chapter or main-level headings; <H3> - <H6> Heading 3 - Heading 6 Subsequent subheadings" (https://www.section508.gov/create/pdfs/common-tags-and-usage/)

Anyone have other resources I can reference to help back the stance that it's not beneficial to have headings all tagged as <H1>?

Thank you,
Claire