Accessibility and Semantic Headings

Markette Pierce Updated by Markette Pierce

Semantic headers help organize pages for all readers. They allow users to see how topics nest together, and are accessible as a list for users of assistive technology, including screen readers. Screen readers use them as guideposts to help learners efficiently navigate pages.

  • Semantic headers are h1, h2, h3, h4 and so on
    • h1 is the course title (built into 8675309)
    • h2 is used for our page titles
    • h3, h4, etc. are used to create additional headers

Always use semantic headers to break up (chunk) sections of text. Applying styling at the header level and then apply the header, rather than styling text manually, ensures screen reader users also have the option of scanning and skimming a text.

Content was excerpted from this presentation by John Packard.

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