Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS) Certification -
Semantic Structure and Navigation Exam
Questions and Answers 100% Pass
First thing screen readers hear: - ✔✔Page <title> (also this is good for SEO)
Page <title> rules: - ✔✔Page <title> must be present and must contain text. Must be updated when the
web address changes. Must be accurate and informative. If a page is the result of a user action or scripted
change of context, the text of the <title> SHOULD describe the result or change of context to the user.
Should be concise. Should be unique if possible. Unique information should come first. The page <title>
SHOULD match (or be very similar to) the top heading in the main content.
The primary language of the page MUST be identified accurately on the <html> element. - ✔✔If the
language is not specified, or if it the language designation is inaccurate, a screen reader will read the
document in the user's default language, which may result in a very bad accent if the page language
doesn't match the user's default. Or not understandable.
The primary language of the page MUST be identified with a valid value on the <html> element. -
✔✔Using 2 letter language code or LCID string.
Inline language changes MUST be identified with a valid lang attribute. - ✔✔Identify any changes of
language within the document. The lang attribute can be applied to block level elements (<div>, <h1>,
<p>, <table>, etc.) as well as inline elements (<span>, <a>, <strong>, etc.).
Example:
<p>While in Spain, my friend tried to speak Spanish,
Page 1/17
©EmilyCharlene 2024. All Rights Reserved.
,but she wasn't very good. Everyone kept saying
"<span lang="es">No comprendo nada de lo que dices.</span>"</p>
Landmarks SHOULD be used to designate pre-defined parts of the layout (<header>, <nav>, <main>,
<footer>, etc.). - ✔✔Use either HTML 5 landmarks or their ARIA equivalents to mark sections of the
layout in the design, so that screen reader users can easily find their way around the layout.
Landmarks are used to designate sections of the overall page design and layout. Headings are used to
designate sections within the content.
All text SHOULD be contained within a landmark region. - ✔✔Labels for headers, mains, sections,
articles, asides, footers, etc. Using just <div> isn't enough.
Multiple instances of the same type of landmark SHOULD be distinguishable by different discernible
labels (aria-label or aria-labelledby). - ✔✔Example: <nav aria-label="Corporate and legal info">
A page SHOULD NOT contain more than one instance of each of the following landmarks: banner, main,
and contentinfo. - ✔✔The ARIA specification states that the landmarks role="banner", role="main", and
role="contentinfo" are meant to be used only once per page. Other ARIA landmarks can be used multiple
times. Interestingly, the HMTL 5 specification allows multiple instances of the equivalent landmarks:
<header>, <main>, and <footer>. The official restriction is only on ARIA landmarks. Even so, it is
appropriate in most web designs to have only one each of these landmarks, whether they are specified
using ARIA or HTML 5.
The total number of landmarks SHOULD be minimized to the extent appropriate for the content. -
✔✔One of the main purposes of landmarks is to allow blind users to quickly find and navigate to the
appropriate landmark, so you should keep the total number of landmarks relatively low. If you don't,
screen reader users will have to sort through too much extra information to find what they're looking for.
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©EmilyCharlene 2024. All Rights Reserved.
, Landmarks SHOULD be made backward compatible. - ✔✔
Text that acts as a heading visually or structurally SHOULD be designated as a true heading in the
markup. - ✔✔Headings are about logical structure, not visual effects. Big bold text may look like a
heading to visual users, but screen readers ignore the size and font-weight of the text, so blind users
cannot know a phrase is a heading unless it is marked up in the HTML code as such, using <h1>, <h2>,
<h3>, <h4>, <h5>, or <h6>.
Text that does not act as a heading visually or structurally SHOULD NOT be marked as a heading. - ✔✔If
you want to create big, bold text for non-heading text, use styles to achieve that effect. If you use heading
markup (<h1>, <h2>, etc.) for non-heading text, you will confuse screen reader users by creating an
inaccurate structural outline of the page contents.
Headings MUST be accurate and informative. - ✔✔Headings should be descriptive enough to give users
a good sense of the content they will find within that section of the document. When screen reader users
pull up the list of headings, they will hear the level of the heading, plus the text within the heading,
including alt text for any images inside the heading.
Heading text SHOULD be concise and relatively brief. - ✔✔There is no technical limit on the length of a
heading, but a heading should be a short label for the section of content below the heading, to make it
easy for users to browse the headings.
Headings SHOULD convey a clear and accurate structural outline of the sections of content of a web
page. - ✔✔lways think about the structure first, because screen readers and other assistive technologies
pay attention to the structure, not the look and feel. If the default size of the headings is too big for the
look you have in mind, use styles to change the size, rather than jumping down to a lower heading level.
The beginning of the main content SHOULD start with <h1>. - ✔✔Usually the best practice is to start the
main content of a web page with a level 1 heading (<h1>), with no other headings before this high-level
heading.
Page 3/17
©EmilyCharlene 2024. All Rights Reserved.
Semantic Structure and Navigation Exam
Questions and Answers 100% Pass
First thing screen readers hear: - ✔✔Page <title> (also this is good for SEO)
Page <title> rules: - ✔✔Page <title> must be present and must contain text. Must be updated when the
web address changes. Must be accurate and informative. If a page is the result of a user action or scripted
change of context, the text of the <title> SHOULD describe the result or change of context to the user.
Should be concise. Should be unique if possible. Unique information should come first. The page <title>
SHOULD match (or be very similar to) the top heading in the main content.
The primary language of the page MUST be identified accurately on the <html> element. - ✔✔If the
language is not specified, or if it the language designation is inaccurate, a screen reader will read the
document in the user's default language, which may result in a very bad accent if the page language
doesn't match the user's default. Or not understandable.
The primary language of the page MUST be identified with a valid value on the <html> element. -
✔✔Using 2 letter language code or LCID string.
Inline language changes MUST be identified with a valid lang attribute. - ✔✔Identify any changes of
language within the document. The lang attribute can be applied to block level elements (<div>, <h1>,
<p>, <table>, etc.) as well as inline elements (<span>, <a>, <strong>, etc.).
Example:
<p>While in Spain, my friend tried to speak Spanish,
Page 1/17
©EmilyCharlene 2024. All Rights Reserved.
,but she wasn't very good. Everyone kept saying
"<span lang="es">No comprendo nada de lo que dices.</span>"</p>
Landmarks SHOULD be used to designate pre-defined parts of the layout (<header>, <nav>, <main>,
<footer>, etc.). - ✔✔Use either HTML 5 landmarks or their ARIA equivalents to mark sections of the
layout in the design, so that screen reader users can easily find their way around the layout.
Landmarks are used to designate sections of the overall page design and layout. Headings are used to
designate sections within the content.
All text SHOULD be contained within a landmark region. - ✔✔Labels for headers, mains, sections,
articles, asides, footers, etc. Using just <div> isn't enough.
Multiple instances of the same type of landmark SHOULD be distinguishable by different discernible
labels (aria-label or aria-labelledby). - ✔✔Example: <nav aria-label="Corporate and legal info">
A page SHOULD NOT contain more than one instance of each of the following landmarks: banner, main,
and contentinfo. - ✔✔The ARIA specification states that the landmarks role="banner", role="main", and
role="contentinfo" are meant to be used only once per page. Other ARIA landmarks can be used multiple
times. Interestingly, the HMTL 5 specification allows multiple instances of the equivalent landmarks:
<header>, <main>, and <footer>. The official restriction is only on ARIA landmarks. Even so, it is
appropriate in most web designs to have only one each of these landmarks, whether they are specified
using ARIA or HTML 5.
The total number of landmarks SHOULD be minimized to the extent appropriate for the content. -
✔✔One of the main purposes of landmarks is to allow blind users to quickly find and navigate to the
appropriate landmark, so you should keep the total number of landmarks relatively low. If you don't,
screen reader users will have to sort through too much extra information to find what they're looking for.
Page 2/17
©EmilyCharlene 2024. All Rights Reserved.
, Landmarks SHOULD be made backward compatible. - ✔✔
Text that acts as a heading visually or structurally SHOULD be designated as a true heading in the
markup. - ✔✔Headings are about logical structure, not visual effects. Big bold text may look like a
heading to visual users, but screen readers ignore the size and font-weight of the text, so blind users
cannot know a phrase is a heading unless it is marked up in the HTML code as such, using <h1>, <h2>,
<h3>, <h4>, <h5>, or <h6>.
Text that does not act as a heading visually or structurally SHOULD NOT be marked as a heading. - ✔✔If
you want to create big, bold text for non-heading text, use styles to achieve that effect. If you use heading
markup (<h1>, <h2>, etc.) for non-heading text, you will confuse screen reader users by creating an
inaccurate structural outline of the page contents.
Headings MUST be accurate and informative. - ✔✔Headings should be descriptive enough to give users
a good sense of the content they will find within that section of the document. When screen reader users
pull up the list of headings, they will hear the level of the heading, plus the text within the heading,
including alt text for any images inside the heading.
Heading text SHOULD be concise and relatively brief. - ✔✔There is no technical limit on the length of a
heading, but a heading should be a short label for the section of content below the heading, to make it
easy for users to browse the headings.
Headings SHOULD convey a clear and accurate structural outline of the sections of content of a web
page. - ✔✔lways think about the structure first, because screen readers and other assistive technologies
pay attention to the structure, not the look and feel. If the default size of the headings is too big for the
look you have in mind, use styles to change the size, rather than jumping down to a lower heading level.
The beginning of the main content SHOULD start with <h1>. - ✔✔Usually the best practice is to start the
main content of a web page with a level 1 heading (<h1>), with no other headings before this high-level
heading.
Page 3/17
©EmilyCharlene 2024. All Rights Reserved.
