Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility

This guideline is a part of the English Wikipedia's Manual of Style.

Editors should generally follow it, though it is best treated with common sense, and exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus.

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This page in a nutshell: Wikipedia pages should have clear formatting, descriptive links, and alternative text so that content is easy to navigate and accessible for all readers, including those with disabilities.

Web accessibility is the goal of making web pages easier to navigate and read. Although primarily intended for disability support, it benefits all readers. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2^[a] provide the framework for the recommendations in this guideline. Adhering to these guidelines improves content navigation and enhances accessibility for all users, including individuals with disabilities.

Article structure

A standardized article structure improves accessibility by allowing users to anticipate the location of specific content on a page. For example, a blind user searching for disambiguation links will know that if none are found at the top of the page, they are not present, eliminating the need to read the entire page.

Headings

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Headings should be descriptive and follow a consistent order, as outlined in the Manual of Style. They must be nested sequentially—beginning at level 2 (==) for the main headings, then level 3 (===), and so on. Level 1 headings, automatically reserved for the article title, should not appear within the article's body text. Skipping heading levels for emphasis disrupts the logical hierarchy and should be avoided. For editors using the source editor, a single newline beneath each heading is permissible.

Examples of correct and incorrect use of nested headings
Correct	Random/chaotic	Skipping levels
[Article lead here] `==Section==` [level 2] `===Sub-section===` [3] `==Section==` [2] `===Sub-section===` [3] `====Sub-sub-section====` [4] `==Section==` [2]	[Article lead here] `====Section?====` [4] `===Section?===` [3] `==Section?==` [2] `==Section?==` [2] `====Section?====` [4] `===Section?===` [3]	[Article lead here] [Level-2 section missing here] `===Section?===` [3] `==Section==` [2] [Level-3 sub-section missing here] `====Sub-section?====` [4] `==Section==` [2]

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Do not create pseudo-headings by misusing semicolon markup (;), which is reserved for description lists, and avoid using bold text for headings. Screen readers and other assistive technologies rely on proper heading markup for navigation. If the table of contents (TOC) is too large, use the {{TOC limit}} template to reduce the length of the TOC by hiding nested subsections, rather than a floating TOC. When {{TOC limit}} cannot be used due to lower-level headings elsewhere in the article, using bold text for sub-sub-sub headings is the least disruptive alternative for screen readers. However, pseudo-headings should be used only as a last resort.

Examples of acceptable and incorrect use of pseudo-headings and description lists
Acceptable	Incorrect
[Article lead here] `==Section==` [level 2] `===Sub-section===` [3] `'''Pseudo-heading'''` `==Section==` [2] `===Sub-section===` [3] `====Sub-sub-section====` [4] `;A term followed by` `:at least one definition or at least one description list item` `:and additional optional items, forming a list`	[Article lead here] `==Section==` [level 2] `===Sub-section===` [3] `;Pseudo-heading` `==Section==` [2] `===Sub-section===` [3] `<small>==Sub-sub-section==</small>` [2]

Floating elements

[a]