Suggestion Report

Consider adding headings to your document to create more structure.

Why Is This Important?

The only thing that makes this a problem is that long sections of text that do not have headings are a nuisance. If large chunks of text are not broken up into sections, then it is harder to find relevant information when you want to refer back to something, and it involves a lot of scrolling for mobile device users and users of text-to-speech or screen reader programs.

Cause Of Result

To get this result you will need to have a page that has at least 1498 characters' worth of text that has not been separated by any headings.

False Positives

While technically not a false positive, if the semantic structure of the page doesn't lend itself to having a heading, or if the text is copied from a published work, then you don't need to add headings.

In other words, think of this suggestion as purely a suggestion.

This result does not have a U FIX IT! button. You will need to use the Rich Content Editor or HTML Editor to add headings to the lengthy section of text.

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To fix the issue with the Rich Content Editor, start by clicking the page title above this UDOIT result to navigate to the page where the error resides and opening the page in editing mode. Next, go through the document, write a new section title wherever is appropriate, place the typing cursor (blinking line) on the new title's line, and then use the Paragraph drop menu to apply the appropriate heading level format. See Avoid using styles for document structure, for more information about appropriate heading levels. Once finished, change the heading text's appearance to suit your taste and then save the page.

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This issue is easier to fix in the Rich Content Editor. However, if you want to use the HTML Editor, start by clicking the page title above this UDOIT result to navigate to the page where the error resides, opening the page in editing mode, and clicking the HTML Editor link in the upper right. Next, go through the lengthy portions of text and decide where new titles should go. Be sure that if you split a paragraph around a heading that you add the closing paragraph tag </p> prior to where you want the heading placed and an open paragraph tag <p> where the paragraph should continue after the heading. If you aren't splitting a paragraph and are instead splitting a <div> or <span> you should use these tags instead of the paragraph tags.

Once you have decided where you want the new heading(s) to be placed. Add one of the following in the space you've prepared:

<h2></h2>
<h3></h3>
<h4></h4>

Use the information provided on Avoid using styles for document structure to determine which heading level to use. Once finished, add the section title text between > and <. Afterward, you can add whatever styling you prefer.

H3 has lately been formatted so that there is a lot of space around it. To fix this, you can replace <h3> with <h3 style="line-height: 100%;">.

H4 tends to be so small that it may not be distiguishable from surrounding text. For it, you may want to replace <h4> with <h4 style="font-size: large;"> or <h4 style="font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">.

When ready, save the page.

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Related Result Pages

Errors
- Headings should contain text*
Suggestions

Avoid using styles for document structure*

Related Standards

WCAG 2.0 A and AA Reference Guide
WCAG 1.3.1: Info and Relationships
WCAG 1.3.1 H42: Using h1-h6 to identify headings
WCAG 1.3.2: Meaningful Sequence
WCAG 2.4.6: Headings and Labels

Last Updated January 2017.
Clemson Online