On any website the top section is repeated in every page. It will be frustrating if the user have to tab through all the repeated elements each time they move to another web page. Users who can use mouse may will scroll directly to the section they want to read and interact. This will not be the case for those who are dependent on keyboard. If the top section have more elements this will be even more frustrating.
The other challenge is with the lengthy web pages. If a user want to see different sections of the page it might be difficult to skim through the content if the structure is not properly marked up. As discussed in the land marks chapter, A well-structured web page helps the users to jump to different sections of the page easily and quickly.
Using skip links
The links such as ‘Skip to main content’ on the top of the page helps the screen reader and keyboard only users to directly jump to the main content region. They will be able to avoid navigating all the repeated sections of the page. Look at our blog on 2.4.1 Bypass blocks to understand how you can create an accessible skip link.
Using a clear heading structure
Once you reach to the main content region, not all the pages have simple content. Some pages may have lengthy content with section, sub sections and even deeper sub sections. Having proper headings with a hierarchical heading structure will only serve a easy navigation for screen reader and cognitive users.
Provide a clear section headings and mark them up with appropriate level of heading tag. Recap chapter 6 headings .
Landmarks
Primarily web pages are at least partitioned into header, main content region and footer. Users who depend on screen readers will not be able to identify these sections unless a semantic sectioning elements are used. The HTML5 sectioning elements and WAI ARIA landmark roles are used by developers to move between the landmark regions. A detailed explanation on implementation of landmarks is discussed in chapter 14.