39. For tables, give consideration to the relationship between rows and columns and the order in which they are displayed (cell-by-cell, top left to bottom right), making them easy to understand.

In audio browsers tables are read aloud from top left to bottom right. Because of this the relationship between rows and columns becomes difficult to understand. Please create your tables bearing in mind the order in which data will be read out. There are also times when the headings for each row or column are not read aloud, making the content difficult to grasp.

Example and Implementation

• When used for layout:
  
  • Create your tables bearing in mind the order in which data will be read out. (In particular, when using tables in forms, make sure they are read out in the order of label, then control.)
  
  
• When used as a table:
  
  • Headings for columns and rows should be specified using the <th> tag (not <td>).
    
  • Use the scope, id and headers attributes.
    
  • Cell merging should be minimized, to only when strictly necessary and not used complicated intricate tables.
    
  • Provide text commentary for important complicated tables.