structure

name	structure
description	Structure content for screen reader and assistive technology use. Chains: heading-structure, alt-text-design, table-accessibility, form-labelling. Use when building a new page, document, or content template and you want to get the structural accessibility right from the start.

Structure for Assistive Technology

Build content structure that assistive technology can parse, navigate, and present meaningfully — so the structure you designed is the structure every user experiences.

Process

Step 1: Define the Document Outline

Using heading-structure, design the heading hierarchy:

• One H1 describing the page purpose
• H2s for major sections
• H3s for subsections within those
• Verify: does reading only the headings tell the full story?

Step 2: Identify Landmarks

Map the page regions that assistive technology uses for navigation:

• banner — site header and branding
• navigation — primary and secondary nav
• main — the primary content area
• complementary — sidebars and related content
• contentinfo — footer
• search — search functionality
• form — significant forms (use aria-label to distinguish multiples)

Every page should have at minimum: banner, navigation, main, contentinfo.

Step 3: Structure Images and Media

Using alt-text-design, assign alt text strategy for every image:

• Decorative: empty alt
• Functional: alt describes the action
• Informative: alt describes the information
• Complex: short alt plus extended description

Step 4: Structure Data

Using table-accessibility, for every table:

• Assign headers with proper scope
• Add caption describing the table's content
• Plan responsive behaviour for small screens

Step 5: Structure Forms

Using form-labelling, for every form:

• Associate every input with a visible label
• Group related fields with fieldset/legend
• Plan error message association
• Define required field indication strategy

Step 6: Define Reading Order

• Verify that the DOM order matches the visual order
• Content should make sense when read linearly top to bottom
• Avoid CSS that visually rearranges content away from DOM order
• Tab order should follow reading order

Output

Deliver a structural specification that includes:

• Document outline (heading hierarchy)
• Landmark map
• Image alt text strategy per image type
• Table structure specification
• Form labelling specification
• Reading order confirmation