Matan · WCAG · Robust

Table headers

Data tables need <th> or scope so header cells can be announced (WCAG 1.3.1).

Pass condition in our engine: Each <table> has th, scope or headers attributes — or there are no tables.

1. Problem description

Layout tables are discouraged; if you use a table for data, first row/column should be headers. Tables used for grid layout without headers fail this heuristic — convert those to CSS grid.

2. Most common causes

  • Excel-to-HTML paste with only <td>.
  • Responsive “tables” made of divs (those skip this check).

3. How to fix it

  1. Use <th scope="col"> or scope="row".
  2. Add a <caption> when it helps.
  3. Do not use tables for layout.

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