👀 Views: 28 💬 Answers: 1 📅 Created: 2025-10-05

html accessibility refactoring HTML

I'm confused about I've searched everywhere and can't find a clear answer. While refactoring some legacy HTML, I've been focused on improving accessibility for screen readers and keyboard navigation. The existing code uses a mix of `<div>` and `<span>` elements for what should be semantic content. For example: ```html <div class="header"> <span class="title">Welcome to our website</span> </div> <div class="content"> <div class="section"> <span>About Us</span> </div> </div> ``` My goal is to replace these with proper HTML5 semantic elements like `<header>`, `<main>`, and `<section>`, which I believe will enhance the accessibility and SEO of the site. After replacing the elements, I added ARIA roles to some sections for better screen reader interpretation, like so: ```html <header role="banner"> <h1>Welcome to our website</h1> </header> <main> <section role="region" aria-labelledby="about"> <h2 id="about">About Us</h2> </section> </main> ``` However, I noticed that assistive technologies still seem to struggle with navigating the new structure. I’ve validated the HTML and ensured that ARIA roles are applied correctly, but it feels like something is still off. I've consulted the WAVE accessibility evaluation tool and it pointed out some potential issues with the use of ARIA roles where native semantics would suffice. It seems like there’s a balance to strike between using semantics and ARIA roles. I tried removing the ARIA roles from sections where native elements could suffice, but the improvement is less than I expected. Has anyone gone through a similar process with legacy HTML? What strategies worked for you in ensuring that the refactored code is both accessible and semantically correct? Any insights on best practices would be greatly appreciated. This is part of a larger API I'm building.