This document is a draft, and is designed to show changes from a previous version. It is presently showing added text,changed text,deleted text,[start]/[end] markers,and Issue Numbers.
Changes are displayed as follows:
HTML 4, XHTML 1.0 and XHTML 1.1
This technique relates to:
The objective of this technique is to use HTML heading markup to convey the structure of the content. Heading markup can be used:
to distinguish the main content from navigation bars, graphical banners, footers, etc.
to show the organization of material within the main content
In HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.x, heading markup is designed to convey logical hierarchy, and heading elements include numbers (h1 through h6). Skipping levels in the sequence of headings may create the impression that the structure of the document has not been properly thought through or that specific headings have been chosen for their visual rendering rather than their meaning. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) can be used to change the way headings look or sound.
Since headings indicate the start of important sections of content, it is possible for users with assistive technology to jump directly to the appropriate heading and begin reading the content. This significantly speeds interaction for users who would otherwise access the content slowly.
Using headings merely to change the appearance of text does not convey the organization of the content, and may confuse users who use headings to perceive structure or rely on them for navigation. Conversely, while applying bold format, or even "class=heading", can result in the visual display of a heading, assistive technologies will not recognize such text as headings.
In this example, heading markup is used to make the navigation and main content sections perceivable.
<!-- Logo, banner graphic, search form, etc. -->
<h2>Navigation</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="about.htm">About us</a></li>
<li><a href="contact.htm">Contact us</a></li>
...
</ul>
<h2>All about headings</h2>
<!-- Text, images, other material making up the main content... -->
Note that in HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.x, heading elements only mark the beginning of sections; they do not contain them as element content.
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<title>Cooking techniques</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Cooking techniques</h1>
<p>
... some text here ...
</p>
<h2>Cooking with oil</h2>
<p>
... text of the section ...
</p>
<h2>Cooking with butter</h2>
<p>
... text of the section ...
</p>
</body>
</html>
Heading markup can also be used to identify images of text that act as headings.
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <title>Cities of interest</title> </head> <body> <h1><img src="../images/cities_of_interest.jpg" alt="cities of interest" width="91" height="95"/></h1> <ul> <li>Barcelona</li> <li>New York</li> <li>Paris</li> </ul> </body> </html>
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Pick a Heading Eric Meyer
Check that heading markup is used when content is a heading.
Check that heading markup is not used when content is not a heading.
Checks #1 and #2 are true.