Parsing - Success Criterion 4.1.1 (Level A)

Question

Is your site or application built to work with current as well as future browsers and assistive technologies?

Why is this important?

Parsing is about writing clean code that follows the latest standards. Web browsers and assistive technologies rely on the code to render the necessary information. Incorrect or broken code creates parsing problems causing the site or application not to work properly.

Whom does it benefit?

Example 1

As a screen reader user,
I want to update my software when new versions become available
so that I can benefit from application improvements and bug fixes without the risk of these updates causing unexpected issues or crashing my system.

Example 2

As a person who has low vision and uses a screen reader,
I want numbered lists in a website to be coded correctly so that the number of items in the list are announced before the content is read
so that I can estimate how much time it will take to hear the entire list.

What should you do?

Ensure the most current markup language is used in your site or application, so that content is accurately presented to assistive technologies.

How do you do it?

Use a code validator tool to test the pages in your site or application to confirm all specifications are met, including but not limited to:

• use of start and end tags
  
• unique ID’s without duplicate attributes
  
• properly nested elements e.g. visually grouped items coded as lists.
  

Need technical guidance?

Technical guidance is available for implementing this Success Criterion at the Understanding Success Criterion 4.1.1 - Parsing page.

Additional Resources to help you

• 4.1.1 - Parsing (Level A) - WUHCAG
• WCAG 2.0 Parsing Criterion is a PITA - Paciellogroup
• Experimental Parsing error bookmarklet - Steve Faulkner, Paciellogroup