{"id":4747,"date":"2026-11-06T11:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T19:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/?page_id=4747"},"modified":"2026-11-06T12:17:47","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T20:17:47","slug":"description-lists","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/core-concepts\/description-lists\/","title":{"rendered":"Description Lists"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wsu-row wsu-row--single\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n\n<h2 id=\"importance-of-lists\">Importance of Lists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This topic is for a special type of list, called Description Lists for Describing a more complex grouping of items. To read about why Lists are important for Accessibility and the more common unordered\\ordered lists, please see <a href=\"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/core-concepts\/lists\/\">Lists | Digital Accessibility | Washington State University<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new Description List Element is typically used for a glossary and is made up of a surrounding DL element with a Description Term (DT) and Description Details (DD) element inside. If either of these items is missing, the markup is incorrect and the content will be inaccessible.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-row wsu-spacing-after--xxmedium wsu-row--halves\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n<div class=\"wsu-container  wsu-position--relative\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-decorator  wsu-decorator--style-lines-crimson wsu-opacity--medium\" style=\"bottom:-15px;left:-15px;height:70%;width:70%\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-container wsu-color-background--gray-5 wsu-spacing-top--medium wsu-spacing-bottom--medium wsu-spacing-padding-left--medium wsu-spacing-padding-right--medium wsu-position--relative\" >\r\n    \n\n<h3 id=\"description-list\">Description List Example 1<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<dl><dt>Apple<\/dt><dd>An Apple is a fruit that is grown in great numbers in WA State<\/dd><\/dt>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n\n\n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n<div class=\"wsu-container  wsu-position--relative\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-decorator  wsu-decorator--style-lines-crimson wsu-opacity--medium\" style=\"top:-15px;right:-15px;height:70%;width:70%\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-container wsu-color-background--gray-5 wsu-spacing-top--medium wsu-spacing-bottom--medium wsu-spacing-padding-left--medium wsu-spacing-padding-right--medium wsu-position--relative\" >\r\n    \n\n<h3 id=\"about-ordered-list\">Description List Example 2<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<dl><dt>Date: 11\/15\/2026<\/dt><dd>Time: 3 P.M.<\/dd><\/dl>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n\n<\/div>\n\n<section  class=\"wsu-section wsu-width--full wsu-position--relative wsu-spacing-after--large wsu-spacing-before--xlarge\"  >\r\n    <div class=\"wsu-section__inner wsu-width--content\">    \n<div class=\"wsu-container  wsu-position--relative\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-decorator  wsu-decorator--style-lines-gray  wsu-decorator--white\" style=\"bottom:-15px;left:-15px;height:60%;width:60%\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-container wsu-spacing-bottom--xxmedium wsu-spacing-padding-left--xxmedium wsu-spacing-padding-right--xxmedium wsu-border--add-top wsu-border--color-autumn wsu-spacing-top--medium wsu-color-background--white wsu-spacing-after--xxmedium wsu-position--relative wsu-zindex--level-1 wsu-notch--small\" >\r\n    \n\n<h2 id=\"common-errors\">Common Errors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wsu-spacing-after--medium\">These common errors hinder the accessibility and usability of digital content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wsu-list--style-arrow\"><li>Missing DT or DD elements.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div><\/section>\n\n<section  class=\"wsu-section wsu-width--full wsu-color-background--gray-5 wsu-spacing-after--large\"  >\r\n    <div class=\"wsu-section__inner wsu-width--content\">    \n<div class=\"wsu-container  wsu-position--relative\" >\r\n    <\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-cta \" >\n\t<a \t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/documents\/2023\/10\/core-concept-check-sheet.pdf\/\"\t\n\t\tclass=\"wsu-button \">\n\t\t\t\n\t\tDownload Digital Accessibility Check Sheet (PDF)\u00a0\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"wsu-icon wsu-i-download\"><\/i>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n    <\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n<section  class=\"wsu-section\"  >\r\n        \n\n<h2>Resources from WSU Digital Accessibility<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsu-card-wrapper wsu-card-wrapper--per-row-3\" >\r\n    \n<article class=\"wsu-card  wsu-color-background--white wsu-border-top--color-crimson\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"wsu-card__content\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"wsu-title \">\r\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/core-concepts\/lists\/lists-and-accessibility\/\">\t\t\t\tLists and Accessibility\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wsu-caption\">\r\n\t\t\tCreating lists with application tools yields accessible, easy-to-scan content.\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/article>\n<\/div>\n    <\/section>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsu-row wsu-row--single\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n\n<h2 id=\"additional-resources\">Additional Resources<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsu-card-wrapper wsu-card-wrapper--per-row-2\" >\r\n    \n<article class=\"wsu-card  wsu-color-background--gray-5 wsu-border-top--color-crimson\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"wsu-card__content\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"wsu-title  wsu-font-size--large\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWebpages\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wsu-card__content-custom\">\r\n\t\t\t\n\n<ul class=\"wsu-list--style-arrow\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/WAI\/tutorials\/page-structure\/content\/#lists\"><strong>W3C<\/strong>: Page Structure &#8211; Lists<\/a> <\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/webaim.org\/techniques\/semanticstructure\/#lists\"><strong>WebAIM<\/strong>: Semantic Structure &#8211; Lists<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/article>\n\n<article class=\"wsu-card  wsu-color-background--gray-5 wsu-border-top--color-crimson\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"wsu-card__content\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"wsu-title  wsu-font-size--large\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDigital Documents\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wsu-card__content-custom\">\r\n\t\t\t\n\n<ul class=\"wsu-list--style-arrow\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.section508.gov\/training\/documents\/aed-cop-docx03\/\"><strong>Section508.gov<\/strong>: Module 3: Use Built-in Features to Create Lists<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/article>\n\n<article class=\"wsu-card  wsu-color-background--gray-5 wsu-border-top--color-crimson\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"wsu-card__content\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"wsu-title  wsu-font-size--large\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPresentations\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wsu-card__content-custom\">\r\n\t\t\t\n\n<ul class=\"wsu-list--style-arrow\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.section508.gov\/training\/presentations\/aed-cop-pptx05\/\"><strong>Section508.gov<\/strong>: Module 5: Formatting Lists Properly<\/a> (PPT)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Using application formatting tools or HTML tags for lists add the visual cues of an ordered or unordered list as well as the appropriate indicators for assistive technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45509,"featured_media":0,"parent":15,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"wsuwp_university_category":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4747"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45509"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4747"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4753,"href":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4747\/revisions\/4753"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4747"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_category?post=4747"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=4747"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wsu.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=4747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}