Accessibility fix guide
Data Table Missing Header Cells
Data tables lack <th> header cells or scope attributes. Screen reader users cannot determine the relationship between data cells and their headers.
Issue ID: A11Y-TABLE-HEADERS-001
Severity: moderate
Impact: Med
Effort: S
Use this article when
- You need deeper remediation guidance than the issue card can show.
- You want CMS-specific steps before handing the fix to a developer.
- You want a repeatable re-check path after shipping the change.
What this issue is
Data tables lack <th> header cells or scope attributes. Screen reader users cannot determine the relationship between data cells and their headers.
Why it matters
Data tables lack <th> header cells or scope attributes. Screen reader users cannot determine the relationship between data cells and their headers. This affects usability, compliance risk, and how many visitors can successfully consume the page.
How we detect it
- FreeSiteAudit flags this issue when the rule for A11Y-TABLE-HEADERS-001 fails and the page evidence points to Dom body.
- You can usually confirm this by checking the page source or the relevant page settings inside your CMS.
Evidence examples
Check the affected page source, rendered output, or relevant CMS setting to confirm the missing or incorrect element.
How to fix it
- 1Use <th> elements for table header cells
- 2Add scope="col" or scope="row" to header cells
- 3For complex tables, use id/headers attributes to associate data cells with headers
How to re-check it
- Navigate tables with a screen reader and confirm headers are announced correctly
Related tools
This issue is best verified with the full FreeSiteAudit crawl rather than a single-point mini tool.