Axe Core Guide

Ensures the complementary landmark or aside is at top level.

Complementary content is content that supports the primary idea of a page or document. Users of screen readers have the option to bypass supplemental content that shows at the accessibility API’s top level. Embedding an <aside> element within another landmark may prevent the ability for screen reader users to browse through supplemental content.

What this Accessibility Rule Checks

Do not insert <aside> elements or elements containing role="complementary" inside landmark-marked content.

The contentinfo landmark must be at top level.

Placement of the contentinfo landmark within another landmark can contradict its purpose by preventing blind screen reader users from rapidly locating and navigating to the intended landmark.

It defeats the purpose of an existing contentinfo landmark when screen reader users must wade through too much extra information to discover what they seek, such as not being able to quickly determine which landmark provides the content information they seek.

What this Accessibility Rule Checks

This rule locates the components corresponding to the footer:not([role]) and [role="contentinfo"] selectors, and then tests whether the landmark has a body context.

Ensures there is only one banner landmark at most on the page.

Landmarks enable blind people to navigate and rapidly locate content. In the absence of landmarks, screen reader users must wade through too much unnecessary information to locate anything.

JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver all support using ARIA landmarks to navigate to specific portions of a web page. Landmarks offer a more elegant answer to the challenge of offering a way for readers to bypass the page’s main content. There is no visible change to the website’s layout, making it inconspicuous and undetectable. Obviously, the fact that this technique is invisible is advantageous for users of screen readers, but not for sighted keyboard users or users of screen magnifiers with impaired eyesight. In this sense, HTML 5 regions and ARIA landmarks cannot replace the conventional “skip navigation” links just yet.

There is presently no method built into browsers to alert users when HTML 5 regions or ARIA landmarks are available. Users of screen readers are the only ones who can benefit from them. There is a Firefox ARIA landmark extension that provides landmark navigation to Firefox, however this is not a native browser capability.

What this Accessibility Rule Checks

This rule locates all banner landmarks, filters out those that do not correspond to their job, and checks that there is only one.

Makes sure there is only one contentinfo landmark on the page.

You should keep the overall number of landmarks reasonably limited because one of their key functions is to help blind users locate and navigate to the proper landmark fast. Screen reader users will have to sift through too much unnecessary information if you don’t in order to find what they need.

Despite all the discussion about utilizing proper semantic structure for accessibility, HTML historically lacked some essential semantic markers, such as the ability to designate areas of the page as the header, navigation, main content, and footer. These designations are now feasible with HTML5 thanks to the new elements header, nav, main, and footer. The ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Application) properties role="banner", role="navigation", role="main", and role="contentinfo" all provide similar capabilities.

ARIA landmarks can be used to navigate to specific web page areas in JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver. The issue of giving consumers an option to skip to the website’s primary material is addressed more tastefully by landmarks. The web design has not changed noticeably, making it invisible and undetectable. The fact that this method is invisible is obviously good for blind screen reader users, but it’s not so great for sighted keyboard users or people with impaired vision who use screen enlargers. In this sense, the traditional “skip navigation” links cannot yet be replaced with HTML 5 regions and ARIA landmarks.

Users are still unable to receive notifications from browsers that HTML 5 regions or ARIA landmarks are present. Only those who use screen readers can benefit from them. It is not a built-in capability of the browser, but there is a Firefox ARIA landmark extension that provides the ability to navigate by landmarks in Firefox.

What this Accessibility Rule Checks

This rule locates every contentinfo landmark, eliminates any that do not map their role, and confirms that there is only one.

To enable screen reader users to navigate the heading structure with keyboard shortcuts rather than wasting time listening to more of the website to understand its structure, make sure the page, or at least one of its frames, contains a h1 element that appears before the start of the main content.

Users of screen readers can utilize keyboard keys to move straight to the first h1, which should, in theory, let them access the web page’s main content. Screen reader users must listen to more of the website in order to understand its structure if there is no h1 or if it appears elsewhere other than at the start of the main material, wasting significant time.

Keep in mind that unlike a visual user, a blind user cannot just glance at a web page and comprehend its layout. Without reading the entire material, visual users can learn a lot about the website layout. Users who are blind do not have such option. Unless there is another convenient way to gain a “glimpse,” screen readers read sequentially, which requires listening to the entire web page. It turns out that one method to do that is to use headers. Keyboard shortcuts can be used by screen reader users to move around a document’s heading hierarchy.

What this Accessibility Rule Checks

This rule locates every element that matches the subsequent selector and confirms that there is at least one of them: h1:not([role]), [role="heading"][aria-level="1"]

Tests with axe-core are required for frames.

The tool cannot do violation testing on numerous levels of nested iframes without the axe-core script.

What this Accessibility Rule Checks

Axe is instructed to run within iframes when the iframes property is set to true. This checks for the axe-core script to deliver a “review item” result using both frame and iframe selectors.

The h1 through h6 element tags must be in a sequentially-descending order for headings to be in a correct logical order.

The fundamental goal of headers is to communicate the page’s organizational structure. The same goal is served by employing various font sizes for sighted users.

For screen reader users, however, text size is useless because a screen reader can only recognize a header if it is correctly marked up. When header components are used correctly, both sighted and screen reader users will find it much simpler to traverse the page.

Users of screen readers can navigate between headings in the same manner that sighted users might skim a page to gain a sense of its contents. Users, especially those who use screen readers, can save a ton of time and stress by using well-written, logically-arranged headings.

Headings serve to explain the organization of the webpage, not only to draw attention to key text. They ought to be succinct, distinct, and accompanied by h1 through h6 components used in hierarchical order. Headings are useful tools for screen reader users because of all of these characteristics. Screen reader users can move among headings in a manner akin to how sighted readers can quickly scan a page and get a sense of its content. Screen readers can save time and stress by using headings that are clearly written and arranged.

Since search engines employ headings when filtering, arranging, and showing results, headings offer other advantages outside just making the page more easily accessible. Making your website more searchable is another benefit of making it more accessible.

What this Accessibility Rule Checks

Ensures the semantic accuracy of the headings’ order.

Banner landmark cannot be nested within another landmark.

If the banner landmark is not the top-level landmark (and is located within another landmark), it does not effectively designate the pre-defined header area of the layout, preventing screen reader users from navigating the layout with ease.

Landmarks are utilized to denote areas of the overall page layout and design. Utilizing headings to identify parts within the article.

What this Accessibility Rule Checks

This rule identifies (banner / contentinfo) landmarks and walks up the document’s structure to ensure that no more landmark roles are met before reaching the body.

Best practice dictates that the primary landmark should not be enclosed within another landmark. All content must be contained within discrete areas, such as the header (role="banner"), body (role="main"), and footer (role="contentinfo").

Screen reader users can navigate a website much more easily if the content is divided into several high-level categories. It is difficult to locate content outside of these categories, and its purpose may be obscure.

Historically, HTML lacked essential semantic markers, such as the ability to define page sections as the header, navigation, primary content, and footer. Using both HTML5 elements and ARIA landmarks in the same element is considered an excellent practice, but as browser compatibility improves, HTML regions will likely become more popular in the future.

HTML Living Standard says “A hierarchically correct main element is one whose ancestor elements are limited to <html>, <body>, <div>, <form> without an accessible name, and autonomous custom elements. Each main element must be a hierarchically correct main element”. This may be a “recommended practice” according to W3C validation.

What this Accessibility Rule Checks

Ensures that all page content falls within a landmark region.

The core content of the page should only have one main landmark, and if the page contains iframe components, each one should either have no landmarks or just one. This is considered best practice.

If all of the content is divided up into one or more high-level divisions, screen reader users will have much easier time navigating a website. Outside of these categories, information can be hard to access and has an uncertain purpose.

Some essential semantic markers, such the ability to designate portions of the page as the header, navigation, primary content, and footer, have historically been absent from HTML. Although it’s recommended to combine HTML5 elements with ARIA markers in a single element, HTML regions will eventually prevail as browser support grows.

What this Accessibility Rule Checks

Makes sure there is just one primary landmark in the document.