WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships

Introduction

This document provides information about the Acquia Web Governance accessibility check:

• Are the table captions identifying the table?

What

This check verifies that each data table caption clearly describes the table content. Captions should help users understand the purpose or subject of a table at a glance and should not be generic.

Why

This is important because table captions provide important context. Assistive technologies often present the caption when users access a table, which helps them understand what the table contains before they spend the time to explore the data. It is also helpful for users with cognitive disabilities who benefit when they can quickly determine whether the table is relevant.

Who

Affected users

This check affects the following users who have:

• Blindness or vision impairments: Who navigate websites with keyboard commands and use screen reader software.
• Cognitive disabilities: Who find it difficult when they cannot quickly determine the context of a table.

Examples

This section provides a pass and fail example of the issue.

Pass example

A compliant table uses the <caption> element to provide a brief, descriptive title for the data.
HTML

<table>
  <caption>Monthly Revenue 2023</caption>
  <tr>
<th>Month</th>
<th>Revenue</th>
  </tr>
</table>

Why this is correct: The caption clearly identifies the specific data contained within the table.

Fail example

A table fails this check if the caption is too vague to be useful.
HTML

<table>
  <caption>Table 1</caption>
  <tr>
<th>Month</th>
<th>Revenue</th>
  </tr>
</table>

Issue: The caption "Table 1" does not describe what the table is about.

How

This section provides information on how to review and fix the issue. 

How to review it

Identify each table on the page and assess its caption. You can use the Acquia Web Governance Browser Extension to identify the table element on the page or in the HTML source code. Ask the following:

• Does the text within the caption clearly describe the data or purpose of the table?

How to fix it

If a table caption is non-descriptive:

• Write a concise summary or title for the table that helps users identify its content.
• Remove any captions that are not essential or are redundant to surrounding text.

Additional resources

This section contains useful resources for this subject.

WCAG success criteria

WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships

Are the table captions identifying the table?

<table>
  <caption>Monthly Revenue 2023</caption>
  <tr>
<th>Month</th>
<th>Revenue</th>
  </tr>
</table>

<table>
  <caption>Table 1</caption>
  <tr>
<th>Month</th>
<th>Revenue</th>
  </tr>
</table>