Hello there!
Before we get into today’s guideline, I wanted to update you on my progress with the new book. Thanks to your support with this weekly schedule, the new version of the book will be published on 1st September.
Thank you so much for being part of this process - your comments and feedback are invaluable in helping me write the clearest guide to WCAG 2.1 that I can.
With that in mind, I’m starting pre-orders for the book from 1st June. It’ll be discounted at first but even the discounted price will be higher than the current version at $49.
If you do plan on buying the book, I’d recommend you buy the old book before 1st June as all buyers of that version get free updates to the new book.
Anyway, on with this week’s guideline…
The meaning of content on your website relies on the order you present it. For example, in English, we read from left to right and read a left-hand column before a right-hand column.
Users who rely on assistive technology (such as a screen reader) to interpret content, require content to be presented in a meaningful order. If this is presented out of sequence, users may become disorientated and will not understand the content.
How to Pass
Ensuring you present your content in a meaningful sequence is a wide-ranging part of web accessibility. It applies to all elements of all pages, so is as big or as small a task as your website.
Make sure you:
Present all content in a meaningful order
Separate navigation menus from the content
Use paragraphs in order
Nest headings from H1 downwards to show their relative importance
Choose whether a list needs numbering or not
Use valid HTML
Tips
Invest in some assistive technology and use it to browse your website.
Turn off the site’s Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) and check that your web page displays in the correct order.
Using headings to show importance isn’t always straightforward. Headings on a web page are a great way to break up content and show your users the relative importance of each section. Headings in HTML range from 1 (the most important) to 6 (the least important). It’s best to have just one Heading1 (H1) on a web page, to show the title of that page.
However, headings don’t need to descend from 1 to 6 each time you use one. As well as headings that share levels, you can skip levels altogether if that fits your content.
Now you’ve read up on 1.3.2 – Meaningful Sequence, join the discussion at wuhcag.com. The Wuhcag community are always on hand to help with questions and we’d love to learn your tips and tricks for this guideline.