PowerMapper
PowerMapper
Headings Screen reader compatibility
Screen reader compatibility for HTML and ARIA headings, showing how failures and techniques work in specific screen reader / browser combinations.
The results include two types of test:
- Expected to work - these tests show support when accessibility features are used correctly
- Expected to fail - these tests show what happens when accessibility features are used incorrectly
Reliability by user agent
The solid area in the graph shows percentage of tests that pass in all tested interaction modes. The cross hatched area shows partial passes that only work in some interaction modes.
An example of a partial pass is when form labels are read when tabbing, but ignored in browse mode.
| Combo | Versions | Reliability | Test Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| JAWS Chrome | JAWS 2024.2409.2 with Chrome 131 | ||
| JAWS Edge | JAWS 2024.2409.2 with Edge 131 | ||
| JAWS Firefox | JAWS 2024.2409.2 with FF 128 | ||
| JAWS IE | JAWS 2019.1912.1 with IE11 | ||
| NVDA Chrome | NVDA 2024.4 with Chrome 131 | ||
| NVDA Edge | NVDA 2024.4 with Edge 131 | ||
| NVDA Firefox | NVDA 2024.4 with FF 128 | ||
| NVDA IE | NVDA 2019.2 with IE11 | 1 better | |
| VoiceOver Mac | VoiceOver macOS 14.6 with Safari 17.6 | ||
| VoiceOver iOS | VoiceOver iOS 17.7 with Safari iOS 17.7 | ||
| WindowEyes IE | WindowEyes 9.2 with IE11 | 1 better | |
| Dolphin IE | Dolphin SR 15.05 with IE11 | ||
| SaToGo IE | SaToGo 3.4.96.0 with IE11 | ||
| Average | Including older versions |
The average includes all versions, but some browser/AT combinations have tests for multiple versions (NVDA / JAWS / VoiceOver), while others only have tests for a single version (SaToGo and Dolphin).
Reliability trend
Works as expected
These tests use conformant HTML or WCAG sufficient techniques, and work in all tested browser / screen reader combinations.
| Screen Reader | NVDA | JAWS | VoiceOver | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browser | Edge | FF | Cr | Edge | FF | Cr | Mac | iOS | |
Heading is img with alt | |||||||||
Expected to work
These tests use conformant HTML or WCAG sufficient techniques and might be expected to work in screen readers. This doesn't always happen.
| Screen Reader | NVDA | JAWS | VoiceOver | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browser | Edge | FF | Cr | Edge | FF | Cr | Mac | iOS | |
ARIA role=heading | |||||||||
Expected to fail
These tests use non-conformant HTML or WCAG failures and are expected to fail in screen readers.
| Screen Reader | NVDA | JAWS | VoiceOver | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browser | Edge | FF | Cr | Edge | FF | Cr | Mac | iOS | |
| Empty heading | |||||||||
Heading is img alt=filename | |||||||||
Heading is img with `alt= | |||||||||
Heading is img with no alt | |||||||||
| Heading non-breaking spaces | |||||||||
| Heading only punctuation | |||||||||
| Heading only spaces | |||||||||
| Nested ARIA headings | |||||||||
| Nested headings | |||||||||
Key
- Stable - works, or doesn't cause problems, in all versions of a specific combination of screen reader and browser
- Better - works, or doesn't cause problems, in the most recent version of a specific combination of screen reader and browser (improvement)
- Worse - causes problems in the most recent version of a specific combination of screen reader and browser, but used to work in older versions (regression)
- Broken - causes problems in all versions of a specific combination of screen reader and browser
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