[Athen] [EXT] Question about headings

[Swanson,Allison]

Thank you all for your input. I was sure that was what I had heard and understood throughout the years. I just wanted to make sure I'm not teaching the wrong thing!
The web developer I'm debating with is citing some discussions where it was determined that there are cases where sequential headings would actually not make sense: TPGi: When do headings fail WCAG?<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tpgi.com%2Fheading-off-confusion-when-do-headings-fail-wcag%2F&data=04%7C01%7CAllison.R.Swanson%40colostate.edu%7C28ea536a765d447a0bdc08d9d7b69d47%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C637778001597069113%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=7tfQQKndcNW55U%2FXPSJpA4wzbzQDgrRDK2tZZMmEN60%3D&reserved=0>
An example the developer gave me was an organization chart where headings are used to depict organization hierarchy: h1 = President, h2 = VP, h3 = AVP, h4 = Executive Director, h5 = Director.

"In that structural hierarchy, there may be divisions/departments that don't have an AVP, or Executive Director, or potentially other levels. In those cases, it would not make sense visually, or structurally to elevate people from lower levels to conform to a specific document structure."

I can see where this is a case where skipping heading levels would actually make sense. Does anyone have thoughts on that?

I think for most ordinary web content, however, it's still going to be best practice to keep headings sequential.

Thanks,

Allison Swanson
[Assistive Technology Resource Center Colorado State University]

From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> On Behalf Of Robert Beach
Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2022 11:45 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXT] Question about headings


** Caution: EXTERNAL Sender **
Keep a logical flow in order to keep from confusing the end user. Headings should follow the same flow as an outline.


Robert Lee Beach
Assistive Technology Specialist - Student Accessibility & Support Services

Kansas City Kansas Community College
7250 State Ave. - Suite # 3384 - Kansas City, KS 66112
O 913-288-7671 | F 913-288-7678
rbeach at kckcc.edu<mailto:rbeach at kckcc.edu>



From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu>> On Behalf Of Swanson,Allison
Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2022 11:51 AM
To: 'ATHENS ' <athen-list at u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>
Subject: [EXT][Athen] Question about headings

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Hello All,

We're having some debate on our campus about whether it's ok to skip heading levels or not. I've always understood that it was best not to, but WCAG doesn't explicitly state this. What is the consensus from actual screen reader users?

Thanks,

Allison Swanson
AT-IT Coordinator & Accessibility Facilitator
[CBS8mbI0AM8N0XtHecA+I5472edEflZ8LcRRyQi8d+OSOKIRCQegUjiiEQkHoFI4ohEJCKEyP8D+cillr8apMoAAAAASUVORK5CYII=]
308 Occupational Therapy Building
970-491-0625
allison.r.swanson at colostate.edu<mailto:allison.r.swanson at colostate.edu>

Assistive Technology Resource Center<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Foutlook.office.com%2Fmail%2Foptions%2Fmail%2FmessageContent%2Fatrc.colostate.edu&data=04%7C01%7Callison.r.swanson%40colostate.edu%7C73811447eada4066e22708d9dab35007%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C1%7C637781285948278344%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=mNsOxBZEYOzn5GPUeozZppBGr05tsy%2FYMjDK9nYJPDY%3D&reserved=0>
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