2.4.6 Headings and Labels: Headings and labels describe topic or purpose.
SC 2.4.6 Headings and Labels supports the accessibility principle **Operable **because descriptive headings and labels help users easily locate and understand content. Conformance impacts users who have limited or are without vision, limited language, cognitive, and learning abilities, limited reach and strength, or limited manipulation. The intent of this SC is to ensure, when used, each heading accurately describes its contents and each visual label for interactive controls identifies its purpose.
Descriptive headings should identify sections of the content in relation both to the Web page as a whole and to other sections of the same Web page. This allows users to locate content easily and decide if they want to interact with it or move somewhere else. It also helps the user understand how the website is organized.
Descriptive labels serve as a cue to the user, helping them recognize specific elements within the page and understand the purpose and meaning of each control.
Labels and headings do not need to be lengthy. One word, or even a single character, may suffice if it provides an appropriate cue to finding and navigating content.”
This SC does not require the use of headings or labels. However when headings and labels are used, they must be descriptive and they must also meet SC 1.3.1 Info and Relationships.
Impact of Nonconformance with SC 2.4.6 Heading and Labels
| Type of Disability | Description of Impact |
|---|---|
| 302.1 Without Vision | Users who are blind cannot use a mouse to interact with electronic content and typically use an assistive technology, such as a screen reader, to get audible or other alternative output for the information represented visually. To be able to navigate the content, understand its structure and relationships, and understand the meaning of content represented in graphics and images, the content must provide textual and programmatic cues in addition to the content presented purely visually. |
| 302.2 With Limited Vision | Users with limited vision may have widely different visual perception. Individuals with limited vision may or may not use assistive technologies. Therefore, in addition to textual and programmatic cues necessary for assistive technologies, ICT must also present content consistently and predictably. Users who view content with magnifiers may not pick up alerts, warnings, or other content if such content is presented outside of a consistent and predictable navigation pattern or if the content is not itself viewable at large magnification. Content that becomes distorted when magnified can also prevent some users with limited vision from being able to understand or interact with the content. |
| 302.7 With Limited Manipulation | Some users may not be able to perform actions that require fine motor control (clicking and dragging), path dependent gestures (pattern-based passcodes), or simultaneous actions (Ctrl + Alt + Del). Providing alternative means to perform the same actions, such as entering the size specifications in an input field to resize an object or allowing sequential key entries, can enable users with limited manipulation to interact with the same content. |
| 302.8 With Limited Reach and Strength | Some users may lack sufficient strength to perform actions such as squeezing, grasping, or depressing a hardware control. Some users, including those in wheelchairs or of shorter stature, may not be able to reach controls that are placed too high or too far away from where a user would access the device controls or interface. ICT designers and developers must consider a broad range of statures, strength and dexterity limitations, and the needs of wheelchair users in order to provide interfaces that are operable with limited reach and/or strength. |
| 302.9 With Limited Language, Cognitive, and Learning Abilities | Some users require more time than average to process information while others may find complicated instructions difficult to follow. Furthermore, some ICT content can distract or overwhelm users, preventing them from being able to interact with or understand other ICT content. Designers and developers of ICT must consider a broad range of cognitive abilities in order to provide ICT that is simple and easy to use. |
Applicability of Success Criteria 2.4.6 Heading and Labels
| Technology | Applicability of SC 2.4.6 Headings and Labels |
|---|---|
| All (Web, Software, Office documents, PDFs, Mobile Native) | Regardless of technology, whenever a label or heading is provided, it must describe the topic or purpose of the content it belongs to. |