Missing title

Silktide checks that every page defines a title, and that the title is not empty. The title is what browsers show in tabs and bookmarks, search engines show in results, and screen readers announce first when a page opens.

<!-- Missing: no <title> in the head -->
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
</head>

<!-- Fixed: a descriptive title -->
<head>
  <title>Careers - ACME Inc</title>
</head>

Why this matters

The page title is often the first thing anyone experiences about a page. A screen reader announces it as soon as the page loads, and it is how users tell browser tabs apart and recognise pages in history and bookmarks. Without one, users hear the page's raw web address or nothing at all, and must explore the page just to learn where they are.

Titles also matter commercially: search engines display them as the headline of each result, so a missing title costs you clicks as well as accessibility.

How to fix it

1. Add a <title> element inside the page's <head>, with text that describes the page.
2. If your page has a <title> but it is empty, fill it in - an empty title is treated the same as a missing one.
3. In most content management systems the title is set per page, often from a "page title" or "SEO title" field, so no code change is needed.

How Silktide tests this

1. Read the page's HTML and look for <title> elements, ignoring any inside SVG graphics (which are unrelated to the page title).
2. If no <title> element exists, report the page as missing a title.
3. If the first <title> element contains no text once surrounding whitespace is removed, report the page as having an empty title.

This check only tests that a title exists. Whether the title actually describes the page is covered by Appropriate page title.

Learn more

• Understanding Success Criterion 2.4.2: Page Titled (WCAG 2.2)
• Appropriate page title
• <title>: The Document Title element (MDN)