Which practice applies to layout tables?

• A. They should be used whenever possible
• B. They should not use data table structure elements
• C. They require aria-label
• D. They must have a caption

Answer: (B)

Layout tables are a way of using the table markup to control visual placement rather than to present tabular data. This creates accessibility and maintenance problems because assistive technologies expect tables to convey structured data, not layout, so reading order and semantics can be misleading. The best practice is to avoid layout tables altogether and achieve layout with CSS (flexbox or grid) while using table markup only for actual data. When you do have a real data table, you should use proper structure (headers with th, rows with tr, data cells with td, and a caption if it helps describe the data). This keeps content accessible and accurately interpreted by assistive technologies. The other options promote using tables for layout, require ARIA labeling, or mandate captions for all layout tables, none of which reflect the correct approach.