2. Operable
2.4 Navigable (Level A)
Contents
Guideline 2.4 Navigable
Provide ways to help users navigate, find content, and determine where they are.
Why is it important to help visitors navigate?
Navigation on web pages serves two purposes:
- To tell users where they are.
- To let users know how to go somewhere else.
These tasks are often more difficult for people with disabilities. This section describes how to help visitors find content and keep track of their location. The same rules that simplify navigation for people with disabilities also improves navigation for users who do not have disabilities.
Success Criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks
Level A
A mechanism is available to bypass blocks of content that are repeated on multiple web pages.
Bypass Blocks Explained
People who cannot use a mouse often use the Tab key to navigate around web pages: they press Tab to move “forward” through the content; Shift + Tab to move “backward”; and Enter to activate links and buttons. At best, Tab key navigation is a tedious way to get around, but for some non-mouse users, it is the best option.
Many web pages have content that is repeated on every page. For example, a site may have the same navigation links on the top of all pages. If there are 20 navigation links, a non-mouse user could be forced to press the Tab key 20 times just to reach the main content — and do this on every page.
By meeting this requirement, keyboard users can go directly to the main content without the need to press a lot of keys. A simple way to achieve this is to place a “Skip to Content” link as the first link on every page.
“Skip to Content” links also benefit people who use portable web-enabled devices, such as cell phones. Because the screens of these devices are so small, it may be more convenient to click a “Skip to Content” link than to scroll through many screens to reach the content.
There are a variety of ways to provide navigation elements that allow non-mouse users to navigate effectively and reduce or eliminate the need to navigate through web content in the sequence elements appearing on the page. These include:
- Bypass Links: Skip to Content is one type of bypass link, typically located in the top left corner of the page. When a bypass link is followed, focus moves to an anchor elsewhere on the page, skipping past content in between the link and anchor. Bypass links can also be used with other complex elements within the content of a page, such as skipping over a large data table or past an embedded object or application.
- Headings: When proper HTML headings are used in web content, assistive technology users are able to list them and navigate directly to any one of them, skipping over any content in between the location in focus on the page, and the heading farther down the page. Using proper headings is perhaps the easiest way to meet SC 2.4.1 (Level A), if the site already meets SC 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).
- Landmarks: With the introduction of WAI-AR