TIP 75

Documents shall be organized so they are readable when a style sheet is removed

Documents shall be organized so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet.

Explanation

This provision requires that web pages using style sheets be able to be read accurately by browsers that do not support style sheets and by browsers that have disabled the support for style sheets. A style sheet is a set of statements that specify presentation of a document. This requirement is based on the fact that style sheets are a relatively new technology and many users with disabilities may either not have computer software that can properly render style sheets or because they may have set their own style sheet for all web pages that they view.

When designing a document or series of documents, content developers should strive first to identify the desired structure for their documents before thinking about how the documents will be presented to the user. Distinguishing the structure of a document from how the content is presented offers a number of advantages, including improved accessibility, manageability, and portability.

Document Structure, Presentation and Content

The structure of a document is how it is organized logically (e.g., by chapter, with an introduction and table of contents, etc.). An element (e.g., P, STRONG, BLOCKQUOTE in HTML) that specifies document structure is called a structural element.

The presentation of a document is how the document is rendered (e.g., as print, as a two-dimensional graphical presentation, as an text-only presentation, as synthesized speech, as braille, etc.) An element that specifies document presentation (e.g., B, FONT, CENTER) is called a presentation element.

The content of a document refers to what it says to the user through natural language, images, sounds, movies, animations, etc.

Consider a document header, for example. In HTML, the header is a structural element marked up with, for example, an H2 element. The presentation of the header might be a bold block text in the margin, a centered line of text, a title spoken with a certain voice style (like an aural font), etc. Finally, the content of the header is what the header says (e.g., "Sailboats").

Use HTML to mark up headings, paragraphs, lists, hypertext links, and other structural parts of your document, and then add a style sheet to specify layout separately, just as you might do in a conventional Desk Top Publishing Package. Wherever possible, use a style sheet for the presentational aspects of your pages, using HTML purely for structural mark-up.

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