A page needs no more than one site footer

Rule: axe/landmark-no-duplicate-contentinfo
Checks: Document should not have more than one contentinfo landmark
WCAG: none; a best practice, not a WCAG success criterion
Fix class: mechanical: A fix needs no authored text or visual decision.

Who it affects

People who use a screen reader or a braille display, most of them blind.

How to fix it

A second `<footer>` outside `<main>` holds a page note, an action bar or a notice

Keep one site footer at the top level. Move content that belongs to the page into <main>, where a <footer> without a role is not a landmark, and make other bars a <div> inside the landmark they belong to.

<main>
  <h1>Returns policy</h1>
  <p>Return any item within 30 days.</p>
  <footer>
    <p>Last updated March 3</p>
  </footer>
</main>
<footer>
  <p>Acme Inc.</p>
</footer>

More than one element has `role="contentinfo"`

Keep role="contentinfo", or a top-level <footer>, on the one footer that holds site-wide information, and remove the role from the others. A top-level <footer> is a contentinfo landmark without the role, so move any other into the part of the page it belongs to, or make it a <div>.

Fixes that fail

Giving each footer a different `aria-label`

Names tell landmarks apart, but a page has only one contentinfo landmark. axe still reports this rule, and screen reader users still meet two site footers.

More on the rule

axe-core’s documentation of the rule

CORA’s fix guidance adapts content from accessibility-agents, under the MIT License: see its notice.