Nested headings Screen reader compatibility

HTML
Dec 12, 2023

Expected Result: causes problems in some screen readers

Actual Result: causes problems in 82 screen reader / browser combinations

For expected failures, the results show which AT combos the failures affect. Results are recorded from the user's viewpoint, so describe the user impact of authoring errors.

Code used for this test:


		<h2><h3>Third level heading</h3> Second level heading</h2>
		<p>Second level content</p>
	

Change History

Last updated: December 12, 2023

  • Bad NVDA with Chrome Causes problems from NVDA 2018.4 to NVDA 2023.3
  • Bad NVDA with IE Causes problems from NVDA 2012.1 to NVDA 2019.2
  • Bad NVDA with FF Causes problems from NVDA 2012.1 to NVDA 2023.3
  • Bad JAWS with Chrome Causes problems from JAWS 2018.1811.2 to JAWS 2023.2311.34
  • Bad JAWS with IE Causes problems from JAWS 13.0.852 to JAWS 2019.1912.1
  • Bad JAWS with FF Causes problems from JAWS 13.0.852 to JAWS 2023.2311.34
  • Bad VoiceOver macOS Causes problems from VoiceOver macOS 10.9 to VoiceOver macOS 13.6
  • Bad VoiceOver iOS Causes problems from VoiceOver iOS 7.1 to VoiceOver iOS 16.6
  • Bad WindowEyes with IE Causes problems from WindowEyes 8.4 to WindowEyes 9.2
  • Bad Dolphin with IE Causes problems in Dolphin SR 15.05
  • Bad SaToGo with IE Causes problems in SaToGo 3.4.96.0
Screen readerBrowserModeNotesWhat the user hears
Fail NVDA 2023.3Chrome 120HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2023.3FF 115HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2023.3Edge 120HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2022.2Chrome 105HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2022.2FF 102HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2022.2Edge 105HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2021.2Chrome 94HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2021.2FF 91HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2021.2Edge 94HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2020.2Chrome 86HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2020.2FF 78HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2020.2Edge 92HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2019.2Chrome 79HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2019.2FF 68HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2019.2IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2018.4Chrome 73HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2018.4FF 60HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2018.4IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2017.3FF 60HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2017.3IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2016.2FF 48HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2016.2IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2015.2FF 41HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2015.2IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2014.1FF 29HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2014.1IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2012.1FF 29HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail NVDA 2012.1IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2023.2311.34Chrome 120HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2023.2311.34FF 115HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2023.2311.34Edge 120HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2022.2207.25Chrome 105HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2022.2207.25FF 102HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2022.2207.25Edge 105HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2021.2107.12Chrome 94HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2021.2107.12FF 91HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2021.2107.12Edge 94HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2020.2008.24Chrome 86HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2020.2008.24FF 78HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2020.2008.24Edge 92HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2019.1912.1Chrome 79HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2019.1912.1FF 68HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2019.1912.1IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2018.1811.2Chrome 73HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2018.1811.2FF 60HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 2018.1811.2IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 18.0.5038FF 52HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 18.0.5038IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 17.0.2619FF 48HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 17.0.2619IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 16.0.4350FF 41HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 16.0.4350IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 15.0.9023FF 29HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 15.0.9023IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 14.0.9002FF 29HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 14.0.9002IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 13.0.852FF 29HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail JAWS 13.0.852IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3
Fail WindowEyes 9.2IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Heading 3, Third level heading
Fail WindowEyes 8.4IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Heading 3, Third level heading
Fail VoiceOver macOS 13.6Safari 16.6HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Heading level 3, third level heading.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 12.5Safari 15.6HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Heading level 3, third level heading.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 11.5Safari 15.0HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Heading level 3, third level heading.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 10.15Safari 14.1HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Heading level 3, third level heading.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 10.14Safari 13.0HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Heading level 3, third level heading.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 10.13Safari 12.1HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Heading level 3, third level heading.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 10.12Safari 10.1.2HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Heading level 3, third level heading.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 10.11Safari 9.1.2HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Heading level 3, third level heading.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 10.10Safari 9.0.1HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Heading level 3, third level heading.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 10.9Safari 7.0.3HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Heading level 3, third level heading.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 16.6Safari iOS 16.6TouchStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 15.6Safari iOS 15.6TouchStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 14.7Safari iOS 14.7TouchStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 13.3Safari iOS 13.3TouchStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 12.4Safari iOS 12.4TouchStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 11.4Safari iOS 11.4TouchStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 10.3Safari iOS 10.3TouchStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 9.1Safari iOS 9.1TouchStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 8.4Safari iOS 8.4TouchUnlabeled heading 2 exposed, followed by level 3 heading. Two, heading level 2. Heading level 3, third level heading.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 7.1Safari iOS 7.1TouchStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Heading level 3, third level heading.
Fail Dolphin SR 15.05IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Heading 3, third level heading.
Fail SaToGo 3.4.96.0IE11HeadingStart of nested heading ends parent heading, outer heading text following inner heading is not exposed as a heading. Third level heading, heading level 3

SortSite rules: AccHtmlNestedHeading

Test notes

All tests were carried out with screen reader factory settings. JAWS in particular has a wide variety of settings controlling exactly what gets spoken.

Screen readers allow users to interact in different modes, and can produce very different results in each mode. The modes used in these tests are:

  • Reading Content read using the “read next” command in a screen reader
  • Tabbing Content read using the “tab” key in a screen reader
  • Heading Content read using the “next heading” key in a screen reader
  • Touch Content read when touching an area of screen on a mobile device

In the “What the user hears” column:

  • Commas represent short pauses in screen reader voicing
  • Full Stops represent places where voicing stops, and the “read next” or “tab” or “next heading” command is pressed again
  • Ellipsis … represent a long pause in voicing
  • (Brackets) represent voicing that requires a keystroke to hear