Non-empty table data cells must have table headers

Checks whether non-empty data cells can be programmatically associated with relevant header cells.

• Screen reader users need header context for each data cell
• Tables become ambiguous when values are announced without labels
• Data interpretation errors become more likely

Provide proper header associations using <th scope> or headers/id patterns.

Bad Example:

<table>
  <tr><td>Product</td><td>Price</td></tr>
  <tr><td>Headphones</td><td>$99</td></tr>
</table>

Good Example:

<table>
  <tr><th scope="col">Product</th><th scope="col">Price</th></tr>
  <tr><td>Headphones</td><td>$99</td></tr>
</table>

• Using <td> for header rows
• Missing scope in simple tables
• Broken headers references in complex tables

• Run table rules in automated checker
• Navigate table with screen reader and verify announced headers
• Inspect table accessibility tree in browser devtools