- Success Criterion 1.3.1
- Conformance level A
List Item Count That Doesn’t Match What’s Actually Announced
1.3.1 — Info and Relationships
Scenario
Setting
A language-learning app's lesson screen
What’s wrong
A list is announced with the wrong item count because wrapper or decorative elements are coded as list items — screen reader users hear '6 items' when there are 3, and can't trust the structure.
Example
<div class="heading">Shipping Address</div>Why it matters
Screen-reader, braille, and reading-tool users who depend on coded structure rather than visual layout.
How to test
Use a screen reader's list navigation on a list of items: compare the announced count ('6 items') to the actual visible item count — a mismatch means wrapper/decorative elements were coded as list items.
How to fix
Code only real items as list items (li) so the announced count matches the visible items.
<h2>Shipping Address</h2>A real heading element exposes the section structure to assistive tech; a styled div doesn't.
Outcome
On a language-learning app's lesson screen, this barrier is gone for screen-reader, braille — they reach the same outcome without extra effort.
Who is affected
Screen-reader, braille, and reading-tool users who depend on coded structure rather than visual layout.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- Text Styled to Look Like a Heading Instead of Coded as One
- Text Columns Faked With Spaces Instead of Real Table Markup
- Table Layout Faked With Spaces Instead of Real Table Code
- Clickable Div Acting as a Link Button With No Real Role
- Structural HTML Tags Used Purely for Visual Styling
- Layout-Only Table Wrongly Coded With Real Header Cells