Understanding Accessibility

Guideline 5. Create tables that transform gracefully.

Tables can be unhelpful for those using speech synthesisers, as the text may be read horizontally, along the screen, rather than by table cell, as expected. Use style sheets for page layout rather than tables where possible. When making a data table, use <TD> for data cells and <TH> for table headers.

There are 6 specific checkpoints in Guideline 5.

Guideline 5 checkpoints, ordered from 1 to 6, with priority and how to check the checkpoint given and the disabilities accommodated by applying the checkpoint
No. Checkpoint Priority Disability Accommodated
5.1 For data tables, identify row and column headers Priority 1 Blind
5.2 For data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers, use markup to associate data cells and header cells Priority 1 Blind
5.3 Do not use tables for layout unless the table makes sense when linearized. Otherwise, if the table does not make sense, provide an alternative equivalent (which may be a linearized version Priority 2

Blind
5.4 If a table is used for layout, do not use any structural markup for the purpose of visual formatting Priority 2

Blind
5.5 Provide summaries for tables Priority 3

Blind
5.6 Provide abbreviations for header labels. Priority 3 Blind

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