3.2.3 Consistent Navigation

Level AA

Navigational mechanisms that are repeated on multiple web pages within a set of web pages occur in the same relative order each time they are repeated, unless a change is initiated by the user.

Who This Helps

Ensuring that repeated components occur in the same order on each page of a site helps users become comfortable that they will able to predict where they can find things on each page. This helps users with cognitive limitations, users with low vision, users with intellectual disabilities, and also those who are blind.

Examples

• A consistently located control

  A search field is the last item on every Web page in a site. Users can quickly locate the search function.

• An expanding navigation menu

  A navigation menu includes a list of seven items with links to the main sections of a site. When a user selects one of these items, a list of sub-navigation items is inserted into the top-level navigation menu.

• Consistently positioned skip navigation controls

  A "skip navigation" (or "skip to main content") link is included as the first link on every page in a Web site. The link allows users to quickly bypass heading information and navigational content and begin interacting with the main content of a page.

• Skip to navigation link

  Navigational content is consistently located at the end of each page in a set of Web pages. A "skip to navigation" link is consistently located at the beginning of each page so that keyboard users can easily locate it when needed.