Accessibility Rule: Document should not have more than one banner landmark

About This Accessibility Rule

Landmarks are structural markers that allow assistive technology users to quickly navigate to key sections of a page. Screen readers like JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver provide shortcut keys that let users jump directly to landmarks such as the banner, navigation, main content, and footer. When a page has more than one banner landmark, users encounter ambiguity — they can’t tell which banner is the primary site-wide header, defeating the purpose of landmark navigation.

This issue primarily affects blind users and deafblind users who rely on screen readers, as well as sighted keyboard users who may use browser extensions for landmark navigation. When landmarks are duplicated, these users must spend extra time sorting through repeated or redundant regions to find the content they need.

This rule is a Deque best practice for accessible landmark structure. While it doesn’t map to a specific WCAG success criterion, it directly supports the goals of WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and WCAG 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks by ensuring that the page structure is logical and navigable.

Understanding the Banner Landmark

A banner landmark represents the site-wide header — the region that typically contains the site logo, site name, global navigation, and search. There are two ways a banner landmark is created:

A <header> element that is a direct child of <body> (not nested inside <main>, <article>, <section>, <aside>, or <nav>) automatically has an implicit role="banner".
Any element with role="banner" explicitly assigned.

Although the HTML5 spec allows multiple <header> elements on a page, only a top-level <header> maps to the banner landmark role. A <header> nested inside an <article> or <section> does not become a banner landmark — it’s simply a header for that section. The confusion arises when developers place multiple <header> elements directly under <body>, or mix explicit role="banner" with a top-level <header>.

How to Fix It

Identify all banner landmarks on your page. Look for top-level <header> elements and any element with role="banner".
Keep only one as the primary site-wide banner. This should be the header that contains your site logo, site name, or global navigation.
Remove or restructure any additional banner landmarks:
- If you have extra <header> elements at the top level, nest them inside a sectioning element like <section> or <article> so they lose their implicit banner role.
- If you have extra role="banner" attributes, remove them.
Don’t use role="banner" on a <header> that is already a direct child of <body> — it’s redundant. Conversely, don’t add role="banner" to multiple elements.

Examples

Incorrect: Multiple Banner Landmarks

<body>
  <header>
    <h1>My Website</h1>
    <nav>
      <a href="/">Home</a>
      <a href="/about">About</a>
    </nav>
  </header>
  <header>
    <p>Welcome to the promotional section</p>
  </header>
  <main>
    <p>Page content here.</p>
  </main>
</body>

Both <header> elements are direct children of <body>, so both become banner landmarks. Screen readers will report two banners.

Incorrect: Mixing `role="banner"` with a Top-Level `<header>`

<body>
  <header>
    <h1>My Website</h1>
  </header>
  <div role="banner">
    <p>Site-wide announcement</p>
  </div>
  <main>
    <p>Page content here.</p>
  </main>
</body>

The <header> implicitly has role="banner", and the <div> explicitly has role="banner", resulting in two banner landmarks.

Correct: Single Banner Landmark

<body>
  <header>
    <h1>My Website</h1>
    <nav>
      <a href="/">Home</a>
      <a href="/about">About</a>
    </nav>
  </header>
  <main>
    <article>
      <header>
        <h2>Article Title</h2>
        <p>Published on January 1, 2025</p>
      </header>
      <p>Article content here.</p>
    </article>
  </main>
</body>

Only the first <header> is a direct child of <body> and maps to the banner landmark. The second <header> is nested inside <article>, so it does not create a banner landmark.

Correct: Using `role="banner"` on a Single Element

<body>
  <div role="banner">
    <h1>My Website</h1>
    <nav>
      <a href="/">Home</a>
      <a href="/about">About</a>
    </nav>
  </div>
  <main>
    <p>Page content here.</p>
  </main>
</body>