Good accessibility usually starts with clear words and the right HTML elements, not a large amount of extra code.
What You Need to Know
A landmark is a recognizable part of a page. A header introduces it, nav groups navigation, main holds the central content, aside gives supporting information, and footer closes the section or page. Not every header or footer becomes a page-level landmark.
In this example: mark site regions for assistive navigation.
Try the Example
Take a look at the example. We’ll explain the important lines right below it.
<header><h1>Student projects</h1></header>
<nav aria-label="Main navigation">
<a href="/projects">Projects</a>
<a href="/about">About</a>
</nav>
<main><h2>Latest projects</h2><p>Explore work from the class.</p></main>
<footer><p>School website</p></footer>Let’s Read the Code
- <h1>: A top-level heading explains what the page is about.
- <nav>: Navigation elements identify groups of important links.
- aria-label: Aria-label supplies an accessible name when a visible one is not available.
- href: Href is the URL to a related resource or destination.
Read the named elements and attributes together. They explain how the browser connects this feature to the rest of the page.
What Happens in the Browser?
Try this with Tab and Shift+Tab. If you can, inspect the accessibility tree too; appearance alone does not tell the whole story.
What does assistive technology receive? The example includes aria-label. These relationships can explain names, states, or descriptions when used correctly. They do not automatically move focus, listen for clicks, or create keyboard handling.
Your Turn
Use Tab and Shift+Tab to visit the controls, then read their labels aloud. Is the purpose of each one clear?
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Judging the page only by how it looks, without checking its meaning and keyboard behavior.
- Check the same result using both the browser and a keyboard, not only by looking at the screen.
Key Takeaways
- A landmark is a recognizable part of a page.
- <h1>: A top-level heading explains what the page is about.
- Test the behavior you expect rather than trusting how the snippet looks in your editor.