Tables Quick Tips

Quick Tips for Tables

Depending on the type of content you feature on the pages of your site, you may be incorporating tables to help organize and distinguish that content from other areas. Tables, like all other areas of web design, can be useful, but also have certain considerations that need to be taken into account for accessibility compliance. Below are a few basics to help you address tables as part of your accessibility plan.

The “Table” element

First and foremost, be sure to use the “table” element to describe tabular data and distinguish it from other areas or information on the page.

Table headers and scope attribute

With tables that contain any significant amount of data or information, utilizing table headers (e.g. scope=”col” for column headers, scope=”row” for row headers) is particularly helpful for assistive technology that identifies or uses these attributes to help users understand the table data.

Title and table information

The “caption” element for your table(s) helps to describe the type of information that the table contains, which is important for any users who are relying on assistive technology to better understand and interact with the page.

These three main concerns can help you both keep your site/page organized and address the accessibility needs of users at the same time.