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Re: list or headings?

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From: tim.harshbarger@deque.com
Date: Mar 5, 2024 11:41AM

I would suggest going ahead and using a list. While normally you might not use a list for a single item, I think it is OK to have a list of a single item when that list is dynamic and may show different number of items. You could make a case that even when the list has just a single number, it may indicate to someone using a screen reader that the list is dynamic and may show 1 or more items under different states.


-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > On Behalf Of Rick
Sent: Tuesday, March 5, 2024 12:32 PM
To: 'WebAIM Discussion List' < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Subject: [WebAIM] list or headings?

Hello:



I am creating a web application and one of the pages allows a user to view a list of project links that can be clicked to populate the main content.



The page begins with a banner and main navigation landmark which occupy the entire page width. Under this is a secondary navigation landmark on the left where the projects are listed. To the right of this is the main content landmark.



The project navigation region begins with a filter mechanism to filter the list of projects. Hence, the list could be empty or only contain one item.
Each project entry consists of a link to the project details (which, when clicked, will be shown in the main region) and some additional lines of text like completion date, number of members, etc. Some of these additional entries may also be links.



I am wrestling with whether to use headings or an unordered list for the projects list to facilitate easy screen reader navigation. The list has the added benefit of informing a screen reader user of the number of entries. It has the disadvantage of for a single item, it is a bad practice to use a list. However, changing to some other method for this case would pose a change to a users expectation, so I would continue with a list of one item.



I could also use headings, but I personally do not like headings in any region except the main region. If headings are used, they would all be at the same level for each project without a heading at level 1 as a main heading, since the main section will contain a heading at level 1 to begin the section.



Your thoughts?



Rick Blair

Senior Principal Digital Accessibility Program Manager

Schneider Electric