Recently my coworkers and I have been discussing HTML headings and heading hierarchy. This may not sound like something you need to spend a lot of time discussing, but there are some situations when it seems very difficult to find a solution without compromises.
The importance of headings
First a little detour about the function and importance of headings in HTML. If you already know why headings are important, feel free to skip to the next section.
HTML headings, created with the h1-h6 elements, are very useful and should be used for anything that visually looks or acts like a heading. This is partly because it is the semantically right choice, partly because it may help your search engine rankings. But the most important reason is that using real headings improves accessibility.
Screen reader users, for instance, can use keyboard shortcuts to skip from heading to heading in a document. To see this in action, check out Importance of HTML Headings for Accessibility, a video showing how a screen reader user navigates a document by skipping from one heading to another. Likewise, some browsers allow keyboard-only users to use shortcuts to skip from heading to heading, speeding up navigation through a document.
So there are several reasons to use headings, and to use them properly.
Requirements for a good document structure
The outcome of the discussions we
Publication date: 2009-01-28
More news from 2009-01-28
Pope channels mass appeal of YouTube
Pope Benedict may well play with light sabres in the privacy of his own bedroom, but don't expect to see evidence of this on YouTube.
Publication date: 2009-01-28
more
Premature obituaries may force new Wikipedia rules
Entries on the internet encyclopedia Wikipedia may have to be pre-approved after it wrongly claimed that Senator Edward Kennedy had died.
Publication date: 2009-01-28
more
From geeky to glamorous: Gadgets for her
Most stylish clutch bags hold a lipstick, credit card and a set of house keys at most. Designer Vivienne Tam's peony-print clutch has a much greater capacity: at least 60 gigabytes.
Publication date: 2009-01-28
more