Guide to Guideline 3.2 L2 SC1 [draft]

Guide to Guideline 3.2 Level 2 Success Criterion 1

  • Guideline 3.2 Make the placement and functionality of content predictable.
  • 3.2 L2 SC1 Components that are repeated on multiple delivery units within a set of delivery units occur in the same order each time they are repeated.

??? how important is this criterion? should we move this criterion to level 3?

Key terms

@@ ben to draft a definition of "same order" to address issue from 8 Sept. telecon:

same order 
Items are considered to be in the same order even if other items are inserted or removed from the original order. For example, expanding navigation menus may insert an additional level of detail or a secondary navigation section may be inserted into the reading order.

Intent of this success criterion

The intent of this success criterion is to encourage the use of consistent presentation and layout for users who interact with repeated content in a set of delivery units and need to locate specific information or functionality more than once. Individuals with low vision who use screen magnification to display a small portion of the screen at a time often use visual cues and page boundries to quickly locate repeated content. Presenting repeated content in the same order is also important for visual users who use spatial memory or visual cues within the design to locate repeated content.

It is important to note that the use of the term "same order" in this criterion is not meant to imply that subnavigation menus can not be used or that blocks of secondary navigation or page structure can not be used. Instead, this criterion is intended to assist users who interact with repeated content across delivery units to be able to predict the location of the content they are looking for and find it more quickly when they encounter it again.

Techniques for addressing 3.2 L2 SC1

Some options deemed sufficient by the working group

  • Option 1
    Presenting repeated components in the same order each time they appear
    AND Presenting navigational compoents in the same order each time they appear


Technology-Independent techniques for 3.2 L2 SC1

  • Presenting repeated components in the same order each time they appear
  • Presenting navigational compoents in the same order each time they appear

Technology-Specific Techniques for 3.2 L2 SC1

Note: There are no technology specific techniques for this criterion. Do we want to note this, or simply omit this section from this guide doc?

Optional Techniques (advisory) for 3.2 L2 SC1

Although not required for conformance, the following additional techniques should be considered in order to make content more accessible. Not all techniques can be used or would be effective in all situations.

Additional Technology-Independent Techniques (Advisory)

  • using templates to ensure consistency across multiple delivery units
  • using dynamic navigation

Additional Technology-specific Techniques (Advisory)

CSS Techniques: 

 

Benefits: How Guideline 3.2 L2 SC1 helps people with disabilities

  • Providing consistent and predictable page layout and navigation allows individuals with low vision and dyslexia to find information that they have encountered on previous pages more easily.
  • Individuals who are blind and use screen readers to navigate content can navigate consistenly ordered navigation menus more efficiently, skipping repeated items such as navigation bars or header information as needed so that they can more quickly locate the content they are interested in.
  • Individuals with physical disabilities who can not use a mouse can use keyboard navigation to quickly focus on navigation or form controls.

Examples of Guideline 3.2 L2 SC1

  • a consistently located link
    A user may recall that a search field is always located at the bottom right corner of a page in in a site. After browsing a number of pages within the site and not finding what they were looking for, the user 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 subnavigation items is inserted into the top-level navigation menu.
  • consistently positioned skip navigation controls
    A "skip navigation" link is included as the first link on every page in a Web site. The link allows users to quickly bypass header information and navigational content and begin interacting with the main content of a page.
  • skip to navigation link
    A skip to navigation link is provided to navigational content at the end of a page. The link is consistently located at the top of each page so that keyboard users can easily locate it when needed.

Related resources