From 62d27f1673e691cb4e9148cda60c2281d7bf9581 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Daniel Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:53:40 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Remove inapplicable examples of empty headings --- _rules/heading-descriptive-b49b2e.md | 20 -------------------- 1 file changed, 20 deletions(-) diff --git a/_rules/heading-descriptive-b49b2e.md b/_rules/heading-descriptive-b49b2e.md index eaf960b223..bd5fec5842 100755 --- a/_rules/heading-descriptive-b49b2e.md +++ b/_rules/heading-descriptive-b49b2e.md @@ -215,26 +215,6 @@ This `h1` heading element is not [included in the accessibility tree][]. ``` -#### Inapplicable Example 3 - -This `h1` heading element has an empty [accessible name][]. - -```html - -

- -``` - -#### Inapplicable Example 4 - -Semantic heading has an empty [accessible name][]. - -```html - -

- -``` - [decorative]: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/#dfn-pure-decoration 'WCAG definition of Pure decoration' [flat tree]: https://drafts.csswg.org/css-scoping/#flat-tree 'Definition of flat tree' [included in the accessibility tree]: #included-in-the-accessibility-tree 'Definition of included in the accessibility tree' From ddd318d0a068268d1a9c4a1e430a3b247e9528cf Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Daniel Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:16:49 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Add background note --- _rules/heading-descriptive-b49b2e.md | 2 ++ 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+) diff --git a/_rules/heading-descriptive-b49b2e.md b/_rules/heading-descriptive-b49b2e.md index bd5fec5842..69c1f5513e 100755 --- a/_rules/heading-descriptive-b49b2e.md +++ b/_rules/heading-descriptive-b49b2e.md @@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ Each target element describes the topic or purpose of the first [perceivable con Headings that are visible but not in the accessibility tree are a failure of [Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships][sc131]. These are not tested by this rule but they can still fail [Success Criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels][sc246]. +Testing tools treat empty headings `

` or `div role="heading" aria-level="1">` differently. Some fail empty headings under 1.3.1, others under 2.4.6, others pass these headings because they are ignored by most assistive technologies, not causing accessibility barriers at all. This rule doesn't include examples of empty headings because there is currently no harmonized approach for testing them. + ### Assumptions This rule assumes that the [flat tree][] order is close to the reading order as elements are rendered on the page. Due to positioning, it is possible to render a document in an order that greatly differs from the tree order, in which case the content which is visually associated with a heading might not be the content following it in tree order and this rule might fail while [Success Criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Label][sc246] is still satisfied.