Web Accessibility at the University of California

Use Headings Appropriately

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The Challenge
Many people who use adaptive technology to access Web pages skim through documents by navigating headings. By using heading elements <H1> to <H6>) to define the organizational structure of your page, you'll make the content more accessible to people with disabilities. Effective use of headings also promotes good indexing and searching with search engines.

Solutions

• Use header elements for all headings. Don't use font size or bold type to indicate headings visually.
• Order header elements properly. For example, in HTML, <H2> elements should follow <H1> elements, <H3> elements should follow <H2> elements, etc.
• Do not "skip" levels (e.g., <H1> followed by <H3>).
• Use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) instead of heading elements to change font sizes and/or styles.

Additional Information

• WebAIM article on content structure
• World Wide Web Consortium Accessibility Techniques for logical headings