Re: heading level order

Hi Ian,

You could potentially keep the proper semantics (H2, then H3) with the
desired style (H2, then H4) by having a CSS class of h4. So then you can
use <h3 class="h4">.

Best,
Lauren

On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 3:12 PM, Stewart, Ian [USA] <Stewart_Ian@bah.com>wrote:

>  All,****
>
> ** **
>
> My name’s Ian Stewart, I’m a GWT/Drupal developer and new to
> accessibility, but I’ve done extensive research lately in order to make one
> of my projects as accessible as possible.****
>
> ** **
>
> Right now, I’m confronted with an interesting issue regarding heading
> levels.  Heading levels, from my point of view, have always been primarily
> a visual style cue.  Often an <h4> works better for CSS inheritance reasons
> than an <h3>, for no reason other than visual style.****
>
> ** **
>
> Recently, our accessibility tester approached me with an interesting
> point.  She suggested that the reader is expecting heading levels to make
> sense as if the page is a linearized document, with each depth representing
> a consistent level of detail.  What do you all make of this statement?
>  Does jumping from an <h2> to an <h4> on a page for stylistic reasons truly
> lessen the intuitiveness of the page for a screen reader?  Is subclassing
> an <h3> to fit my style needs worth having <h2>s always followed by <h3>s?
> ****
>
> ** **
>
> Thanks for your thoughts, I found it an interesting question.****
>
> ** **
>
> Sincerely,****
>
> ** **
>
> Ian****
>



-- 
Lauren Colton
Information Architect & Editor
http://www.gravityworksdesign.com
Office: 517.481.2218
Cell: 517.410.0774
Fax: 517.481.3778