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Navigating Accessibility: Headings, List Items & Blockquotes

Navigating accessibility involves ensuring that heading and list items provide clear and concise summaries to aid users in understanding content structure and organization.

Heading and List Items

 

Headings and list items serve distinct purposes in document structuring Headings typically represent different levels of hierarchy or sections in a document, aiding navigation and providing a visual structure. Headings should be used for section titles and organizing content hierarchically, while list items are best suited for presenting items in a list format. 

Refrain from using headings solely to increase font size emphasizes the importance of meaningful hierarchy in organizing content, rather than relying on stylistic changes alone.

On the other hand, lists items, when a screen reader encounters a list, it informs the user about the presence of a list and the number of items it contains. This enables users to grasp the structure of the information more effectively, enhancing their browsing experience. Confusion may arise when users interchange these elements.

 

Blockquotes

 

Semantic elements like blockquotes serve a specific purpose beyond visual aesthetics. Improper use of such elements can lead to confusion for users relying on assistive technology. For instance, the blockquote element indicates to search engines and assistive tools that the content within it is a quotation. Using it incorrectly may mislead users about the context or significance of the quoted text, hindering their comprehension. 

“We need to make every single thing accessible to every single person with a disability.”― Stevie Wonder.