Table Header Checker
Paste your page HTML and confirm every pricing, comparison and spec table labels its columns with header cells, a caption and scope.
What this tool gives you
Check the tables
Paste your page HTML. Analysis runs locally in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere.
Pricing, comparison and spec tables are the top targets. Paste the body section so every table on the page is audited.
What this checker looks for
Good tables label their columns. Screen readers and AI answer engines can only quote data they can map.
th header cells
First-row <th> labels every column so rows read as records, not stray text.
caption / aria-label
A name for the table that says what it compares, read before the first cell.
scope attribute
scope="col" or "row" removes guessing for complex or multi-header tables.
Row structure
<thead>/<tbody> split makes header rows skip-proof for assistive tech.
GEO payoff
Answer engines quote clean tables far more often than free-form lists.
Semantic HTML
Tables are for data; divs or lists pretending to be tables get no structure at all.
How to fix tables
Three steps turn a raw grid into a labeled dataset for humans and machines.
Add th headers
Wrap column labels in <th> in the first row, with a <thead> wrapper.
Name the table
Add a <caption> like "Plan pricing" or aria-label when the caption is redundant.
Declare scope
Add scope="col" to header cells and scope="row" for row labels in matrices.
Table markup by goal
Match the markup to what the table needs to do — compare, summarize or lay out a page.
| Use case | Markup | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing comparison | caption + thead + th scope=col | Records read cleanly for users and answer engines. |
| Spec sheet | th scope=row on first column | Row labels map to attributes without guessing. |
| Simple data grid | th in first row | Enough structure for most screen readers. |
| Multi-header matrix | colgroup + scope on each th | Removes ambiguity where columns repeat. |
| Layout helpers | no table — use CSS grid/flex | Presentational tables confuse every parser. |
| FAQ-style tables | caption + linked th text | Engines can cite the caption as the topic. |
Related GEO pages
Clean tables pair with clean headings and readable copy for maximum citation potential.
Table FAQs
Why do tables need header cells?
A <th> in the first row labels every column, so a screen reader can announce "Plan: Basic, Price: $19" instead of a wall of numbers. The same structure lets answer engines build clean records from your data — well-formed tables get quoted far more often than free-form lists.
Is a caption or aria-label required?
Tables should have a name, and <caption> is the native way to provide one. An aria-label on the table element also works when a visible caption would be redundant. Without either, assistive tech announces a table but not what it compares, and engines have to guess the topic.
When do I need scope="col"?
Use scope on every header cell in multi-column tables, and scope="row" for the first cell of each row in matrix layouts. It removes any ambiguity about whether a header applies to a column or a row, which is exactly where complex pricing tables break for screen reader users.