WEB ACCESSIBILITY SPECIALIST (WAS) CERTIFICATION -
SEMANTIC STRUCTURE AND NAVIGATION QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
First thing screen readers hear: - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Page <title> (also this is good for SEO)
Page <title> rules: - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅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. - CORRECT
ANSWER✅✅✅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. -
CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Using 2 letter language code or LCID string.
Inline language changes MUST be identified with a valid lang attribute. - CORRECT
ANSWER✅✅✅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,
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.). - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅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. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅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). - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅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. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅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. -
CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅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.
Landmarks SHOULD be made backward compatible. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅
Text that acts as a heading visually or structurally SHOULD be designated as a true heading in the
markup. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅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>.
SEMANTIC STRUCTURE AND NAVIGATION QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
First thing screen readers hear: - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Page <title> (also this is good for SEO)
Page <title> rules: - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅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. - CORRECT
ANSWER✅✅✅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. -
CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Using 2 letter language code or LCID string.
Inline language changes MUST be identified with a valid lang attribute. - CORRECT
ANSWER✅✅✅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,
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.). - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅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. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅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). - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅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. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅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. -
CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅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.
Landmarks SHOULD be made backward compatible. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅
Text that acts as a heading visually or structurally SHOULD be designated as a true heading in the
markup. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅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>.
