Coding with H1 and JAWS 5

Sighted users visually scan a page to see if it contains the information they are looking for, or to see if a page is interesting enough to read fully. Non-sighted users have a variety of techniques to locate information on a page. The most common is to bring up a list of links. But if the page they are scanning is a long or complex page, or is a page with mostly text, they may scan the page using the page organization defined by the <H> tags -- H1, H2, H3 etc.

Many web developers, myself included, use the H tags for visual design elements. This was handy for the developer and provided some organization for the users of screen-readers. JAWS now has changed the way it interprets the H tags that requires better planning on the part of the developer.

Earlier versions of JAWS gave every listing of H3 on the page, no matter what section of H2 the user was in. This caused higher levels of <h1>, for example, to be bypassed and caused confusion for the listener. Now, JAWS conforms to a true outline hierarchy. It will state "no more level 2 headings" if there are no more in the section. There may be more on the page. This requires the developer or analyst to follow a true outline of the page with the <h>tags, instead of taking the sometimes convenient route of using the most convenient <h>tag for the design element.

A little more work, better conformation to Web Standards. Oh well, another sloppy habit bites the dust.

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