How to fix landmark no duplicate banner on Headless / Custom (I build in code)

Steps for Headless / Custom (I build in code)

1. Search your codebase (components, layouts, partials) for every `<header`, `role="banner"`, and any component named 'Header' or 'PageHeader'.
2. Ensure exactly one component renders a top-level `<header>` (or `role="banner"`) that is not nested inside `<main>`, `<article>`, `<section>`, `<aside>`, or `<nav>`.
3. Rename inner-content headings sections to `<div>` with descriptive class names, or wrap them in a sectioning element so the browser treats the nested `<header>` as a section header, not a page banner.
4. Add an automated accessibility test (e.g. jest-axe or Playwright + axe-core) to your CI pipeline to catch regressions.
5. Deploy and validate with axe DevTools or Lighthouse.

What is landmark no duplicate banner?

A "banner landmark" is the main header area of a webpage — the section that typically contains your logo, site-wide navigation, and branding. In HTML it is created by a top-level `<header>` element or any element with `role="banner"`. Assistive technologies like screen readers use landmarks as shortcuts so users can jump straight to the part of the page they need. The WCAG rule is simple: a page should have only one banner landmark. When two or more exist (e.g. a sticky header plus a secondary `<header>` in the page body, or a theme component that accidentally duplicates the tag), screen readers announce "banner" more than once and users cannot reliably find the true top of your site.

Blind and low-vision shoppers who rely on screen readers navigate pages by jumping between landmarks. If there are two banners, their software cannot tell them which is the real site header, forcing them to listen to redundant announcements or give up entirely. This directly hurts conversions from assistive technology users — a segment estimated at 15–20 % of the global population with some form of disability. Legally, WCAG 2.1 AA compliance is required or strongly expected under the ADA (US), EAA (EU), AODA (Canada), and similar laws; duplicate-landmark violations are cited in accessibility lawsuits and audits. Fixing it also tends to tighten your HTML structure, which search engines reward with slightly better crawlability.

See the complete Landmark no duplicate banner guide for every platform and the full background.