This Web page lists Failures from Techniques for WCAG 2.0: Techniques and Failures for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. For information about the techniques, see Introduction to Techniques for WCAG 2.0. For a list of techniques for other technologies, see the Table of Contents.
All technologies that support CSS.
This failure relates to:
This describes the failure condition that results when CSS, rather than structural markup, is used to modify the visual layout of the content, and the modified layout changes the meaning of the content. Using the positioning properties of CSS2, content may be displayed at any position on the user's viewport. The order in which items appear on a screen may be different than the order they are found in the source document. Assistive technologies rely on the source code or other programmatically determined order to render the content in the correct sequence. Thus, it is important not to rely on CSS to visually position content in a specific sequence if this sequence results in a meaning that is different from the programmatically determined reading order.
The following example demonstrates how CSS has been improperly used to create a set of columns. In addition, the text appears visually in the browser in a different order than in the markup.
In this example a class is defined for each object that is being positioned. When style sheets are applied, the text appears in two columns. Elements of class "menu1" (Products) and "menu2" (Locations) appear as column headings. "Telephones, Computers, and Portable MP3 Players" are listed under Products and "Idaho" and "Wisconsin" are listed under Locations (note the different order for Idaho and Wisconsin in the source code order).
Since appropriate structural elements have not been used, when style sheets are not applied, all of the text appears in one line in the source order, "Products Locations Telephones Computers Portable MP3 Players Wisconsin Idaho."
Here is the HTML content:
<div class="box">
<span class="menu1">Products</span>
<span class="menu2">Locations</span>
<span class="item1">Telephones</span>
<span class="item2">Computers</span>
<span class="item3">Portable MP3 Players</span>
<span class="item5">Wisconsin</span>
<span class="item4">Idaho</span>
</div>
Here are the styles for the above content:
.menu1 {
position: absolute;
top: 3em;
left: 0em;
margin: 0px;
font-family: sans-serif;
font-size: 120%;
color: red;
background-color: white
}
.menu2 {
position: absolute;
top: 3em;
left: 10em;
margin: 0px;
font-family: sans-serif;
font-size: 120%;
color: red;
background-color: white
}
.item1 {
position: absolute;
top: 7em;
left: 0em;
margin: 0px
}
.item2 {
position: absolute;
top: 8em;
left: 0em;
margin: 0px
}
.item3 {
position: absolute;
top: 9em;
left: 0em;
margin: 0px
}
.item4 {
position: absolute;
top: 7em;
left: 14em;
margin: 0px
}
.item5 {
position: absolute;
top: 8em; left: 14em;
margin: 0px
}
#box {
position: absolute;
top: 5em;
left: 5em
}
A better solution for this content would be to use more meaningful elements, such as a table or a definition list.
No resources available for this technique.
For content which uses CSS for positioning:
Remove the style information from the document or turn off use of style sheets in the user agent.
Check that the reading order of the content is correct and the meaning of the content is preserved.
If step #2 is false, then this failure condition applies and the content fails this Success Criterion.
All technologies that support images or presentation markup.
This failure relates to:
This document describes a failure that occurs when a change in the appearance of text conveys meaning without using appropriate semantic markup. This failure also applies to images of text that are not enclosed in the appropriate semantic markup.
The author intended to make a heading but didn't want the look of the default HTML heading. So they used CSS to style the P element to look like a heading and they called it a heading. But they failed to use the proper HTML heading element. Therefore, the Assisitive Technology could not distinguish it as a heading.
<style type="text/css">
.heading1{
font-family: Times, serif;
font-size:200%;
font-weight:bold;
}
</style>
<p class="heading1">Introduction</p>
<p>This introduction provides detailed information about how to use this
........
</p>
Note: In this case, the proper approach would be to use CSS to style the H1 element in HTML.
Chapter1.gif is an image of the words, "Chapter One" in a Garamond font sized at 20 pixels. This is a failure because at a minimum the img element should be enclosed within a header element. A better solution would be eliminate the image and to enclose the text within a header element which has been styled using CSS.
<img src="Chapter1.gif" alt="Chapter One"> <p>Once upon a time in the land of the Web..... </p>
The following example fails because the information conveyed by using the CSS font-weight property to change to a bold font is not conveyed through semantic markup or stated explicitly in the text.
Here is a CSS class to specify bold:
.yell {
font-weight:bold;
text-transform: uppercase;
}
And here is the corresponding HTML:
<p> "I said, <span class="yell">no</span>, not before dinner!", was the exasperated response when Timmy asked his mother for the fourth time for an ice cream cone. </p>
No resources available for this technique.
For images of text:
Check if any images of text are used to convey structural information of the document.
Check that the proper semantic structure (e.g. HTML headings) is used with the text to convey the information.
For styled text that conveys information:
Check if there is any styled text that conveys structural information.
Check that in addition to styling, the proper semantic structure is used with the text to convey the information.
If check #1.1 is true, then #1.2 is true.
If check #2.1 is true, then #2.2 is true.
All technologies that support CSS.
This failure relates to:
The CSS background-image property provides a way to include images in the document with CSS without any reference in the HTML code. The CSS background-image property was designed for decorative purposes and it is not possible to associate text alternatives with images that are included via CSS. Text alternatives are necessary for people who cannot see images that convey important information. Therefore, it is a failure to use this property to add images to convey important information.
Note: Embedding information into a background image can also cause problems for people who use alternate backgrounds in order to increase legibility and for users of high contrast mode in some operating systems. These users, would lose the information in the background image due to lack of any alternative text.
In the following example, part of the content is contained in an image that is presented by CSS alone. In this example, the image TopRate.png is a 180 by 200 pixel image that contains the text, "19.3% APR Typical Variable."
The CSS contains:
p#bestinterest {
padding-left: 200px;
background: transparent url(/images/TopRate.png) no-repeat top left;
}It is used in this excerpt:
<p id="bestinterest"> Where else would you find a better interest rate? </p>
A book distributor uses background images to provide icons against a list of book titles to indicate whether they are new, limited, in-stock, or out of stock.
The CSS contains:
ul#booklist li {
padding-left: 20px;
}
ul#booklist li.new {
background: transparent url(new.png) no-repeat top left;
}
ul#booklist li.limited {
background: transparent url(limited.png) no-repeat top left;
}
ul#booklist li.instock {
background: transparent url(instock.png) no-repeat top left;
}
ul#booklist li.outstock {
background: transparent url(outstock.png) no-repeat top left;
}It is used in this excerpt:
<ul id="booklist"> <li class="new">Some book</li> <li class="instock">Some other book</li> <li class="limited">A book we desperately want to get rid of</li> ... <li class="outstock">A book you actually want </li> </ul>
No resources available for this technique.
Examine all images added to the content via CSS.
Check that the images do not convey important information.
If an image does convey important information, the information is provided to assistive technologies and is also available when the CSS image is not displayed.
If step #2 and step #3 are both false, then this failure condition applies and the content fails this Success Criterion.
Cascading Style Sheets.
This failure relates to:
The blink value of the text-decoration property
is not supported by Internet Explorer. It is supported in
Netscape/Mozilla family browsers. Not tested in others (e.g., Safari,
Opera).
CSS defines the blink value for the text-decoration
property. When used, it causes any text in elements with this property to
blink at a predetermined rate. This cannot be interrupted by the user, nor
can it be disabled as a user agent preference. The blinking continues as
long as the page is displayed. Therefore, content that uses
text-decoration:blink fails the Success Criterion because
blinking can continue for more than three seconds.
A product list page uses the text-decoration:blink style
on an element to draw attention to sale prices. This fails the
Success Criterion because users cannot control the blink.
<p>My Great Product <span style="text-decoration:blink">Sale! $44,995!</span></p>
Resources are for information purposes only, no endorsement implied.
Examine inline styles, internal stylesheets, and external
stylesheets for the text-decoration property with a
value of "blink".
If the property is used, determine if the ID, class, or element identified by selectors on which this property is defined are used in the document.
If step #1 and step #2 are true, the content fails the success criterion.
Technologies that support blinking content within an object, applet, or a plug-in.
This failure relates to:
When content that is rendered by a plug-in or contained in an applet blinks, there may be no way for the user agent to pause the blinking. If neither the plug-in, applet, nor the content itself provides a mechanism to pause the content, the user may not have sufficient time to read the content between blinks or it may be so distracting that the user will not be able to read other content on the page.
An applet displays an advertisement on a news site. The applet blinks key words in the advertisement in order to call the user's attention to it. The blinking cannot be paused through any user agent settings and the applet does not provide a mechanism to stop it.
For each page that has blinking content in a plugin or applet:
Determine if the content continues to blink for longer than 5 seconds.
Determine if there is a means to pause the blinking content.
If step #1 is true and step #2 is false, the content fails the success criterion.
Applies to all technologies.
This failure relates to:
This describes a failure condition for all techniques involving captions. If the "caption" does not include all of the dialog (either verbatim or in essence) as well as all important sounds then the 'Captions' are not real captions.
NOTE: Captions sometimes simplify the spoken text both to make it easier to read and to avoid forcing the viewer to read at very high speed. This is standard procedure and does not invalidate a caption.
Examples of text streams that are not captions include:
text that contains the dialog (possibly simplified dialog) but that does not describe important sounds
text that omits dialog during portions of the material
No resources available for this technique.
(none currently listed)
View the material with captioning turned on.
Check that all dialog is accompanied by a caption.
Check that all important sounds are captioned.
Step #2 and step #3 are true.
General.
This failure relates to:
This document describes a failure that occurs when removing focus from a form element, such as by moving to the next element, causes a change of context.
The user is going through the form filling out the fields in order. When he moves from the third field to the forth, the form submits.
Resources are for information purposes only, no endorsement implied.
Find all form elements.
Go through them in order.
Check if the form submits when you move from one field to the next.
Check if moving from one field to the next launches any new windows.
Check if moving from one filed to the next navigates to another screen.
If step #3, step #4, or step #5 is true, then this failure condition applies and the content fails the Success Criterion.
Applies when content creates a situation where the user can enter the content using the keyboard, but cannot exit the content using the keyboard.
This failure relates to:
When content includes multiple formats, one or more user agents or plug-ins are often needed in order to successfully present the content to users. For example, a page that includes XHTML, SVG, SMIL and XForms may require a browser to load as many as three different plug-ins in order for a user to successfully interact with the content. Some plug-ins create a common situation in which the keyboard focus can become "stuck" in a plug-in, leaving a keyboard-only user with no way to return to the other content.
A plug-in traps the user A user tabs into a plug-in and is unable to return to content outside the plug-in content with the keyboard. The user has to restart their browser in order to regain control and navigate to a new page and is unable to access any content that appears beyond the plug-in content.
No resources available for this technique.
Using a keyboard, navigate through the content.
Check to see that the keyboard focus is not "trapped" and it is possible to move keyboard focus out of the plug-in content without closing the user agent or restarting the system.
If the keyboard focus becomes "trapped," then this failure condition applies and content fails the Success Criterion and conformance requirement 5.
Sites that require user login to submit input and that terminate the session after a some period of inactivity.
This failure relates to:
Web servers that require user authentication usually have a session mechanism in which a session times out after a period of inactivity from the user. This is sometimes done for security reasons, to protect users who are assumed to have left their computer exposed in a state where someone could do something harmful to them such as transfer bank funds or make an unauthorized purchase. A user with a disability may actually still be working to complete the form as it may take him or her longer to complete the form than would normally be expected. Upon re-authentication, if the state of the user's session is not restored, including all data that had been previously entered into the form, he or she will have to start over. And for these users, it is likely that the session will time out again before they can complete the form. This sets up a situation where a user who needs more time to complete the form can never complete it.
A user submits a form on an authenticated site after their login has expired. On submitting the form, they are prompted to log in again, and then taken to a general welcome page. The data is not processed and they must try again.
A user submits a form on an authenticated site after their login has expired. On submitting the form, they are prompted to log in again, and then taken back to the page they were on just before the login, which in this case contains the form they attempted to submit. However, the form is not populated with the data they just entered, and they must re-enter it.
On a site where authentication is required, user input is collected, and which ends the user's session after a known period of inactivity:
Provide user input as required but allow the session to time out, then submit the form.
When requested, re-authenticate with the server.
Determine if the function is performed using the previously submitted data.
If step #3 is false, the site fails the Success Criterion.
All technologies.
This failure relates to:
The objective of this technique is to describe the failure that occurs when an image uses color differences to convey information, but the text alternative for the image does not convey that information. This can cause problems for people who are blind or colorblind because they will not be able to perceive the information conveyed by the color differences.
A bar chart of sales data is provided as an image. The chart includes yearly sales figures for four employees in the Sales Department. The text alternative for the image says, "The following bar chart displays the yearly sales figures for the Sales Department. Mary sold 3.1 Million; Fred, 2.6 Million; Bob, 2.2 Million; and Andrew, 3.4 Million. The red bars indicate sales that were below the yearly quota". This text alternative fails to provide the information which is conveyed by the color red in the image. The alternative should indicate which people did not meet the sales quota rather than relying on color.
No resources available for this technique.
For all images in the content that convey information by way of color differences:
Check that the information conveyed by color differences is not included in the text alternative for the image.
If step #1 is true, then this failure condition applies and content fails the Success Criterion.
All technologies.
This failure relates to:
The objective of this technique is to show how identifying content only by its shape or location makes content difficult to understand and operate. When only visual identification or location is used, users with visual disabilities may find it difficult to locate content since they cannot see the screen or may perceive only a small portion of the screen at one time. Also, location of content can vary if page layout varies due to variations in font, window, or screen size.
The navigation instructions for a site state, "To go to next page, press the button to the right. To go back to previous page, press the button to the left."
A user is reading a news article in an on-line newspaper. The article contains an illustration and additional links for more information. Within the text of the article is a statement, "Please see sidebar to the left of the illustration for links to additional information." An assistive technology user would have difficulty finding the illustration and the sidebar. Some alternatives would be to include the list of links within the text; to provide an in-page link within the text which links to the sidebar; to provide a heading for the sidebar which can be used for navigation and refer to the heading in the instructions.
A user is completing an on-line survey. There are three buttons at the bottom of the survey form. The instructions state, "Press the square button to exit the survey without saving, Press the triangle button to save in-progress survey results. You may return later to complete the survey. Press the round button to submit the survey results." A screen reader user cannot determine which button is square, triangular, or round. The buttons must have additional information to indicate their functions.
No resources available for this technique.
Examine the Web page for textual references to content within the Web page.
Check that the references do not rely on only the shape or location of the content.
If step #2 is false, then this failure condition applies and the content fails this Success Criterion.
Applies to all technologies that support an accessibility API.
This failure relates to:
When standard controls from accessible technologies are used, they usually are programmed in a way that uses and supports the accessibility API. If custom controls are created, however, then it is up to the programmer to be sure that the newly created control supports the accessibility API. If this is not done, then assistive technologies will not be able to understand what the control is or how to operate it or may not even know of its existence.
A music player is designed with custom controls that look like musical notes that are stretched for volume, tone etc. The programmer does not make the new control support the Accessibility API. As a result - the controls cannot be identified or controlled from AT.
Resources are for information purposes only, no endorsement implied.
(none currently listed)
Using the accessibility checker for the technology (or if that is not available, inspect the code or test with an assistive technology), check the controls to see if they support the accessibility API.
If step #1 is false, then this failure condition applies and the content fails this Success Criterion
All technologies that support visual movement or scrolling.
This failure relates to:
In this failure technique, there is moving or scrolling content that cannot be paused and resumed by users. In this case, some users with low vision or cognitive disabilities will not be able to perceive the content.
A page has a scrolling news ticker without a mechanism to pause it. Some users are unable to read the scrolling content.
On a page with moving or scrolling content,
Check that a mechanism is provided in the Web page or user agent to pause moving or scrolling content.
Use the pause mechanism to pause the moving or scrolling content.
Check that the moving or scrolling has stopped and does not restart by itself.
Check that a mechanism is provided in the Web page or user agent to restart the paused content.
Use the restart mechanism provided to restart the moving content.
Check that the movement or scrolling has resumed from the point where it was stopped.
If steps step #1, step #3, step #4, or step #6 are false, then the content fails the success criterion.
Applies to the Document Object Model (DOM) for HTML and XHTML
This failure relates to:
The objective of this technique is to ensure that Web pages can be interpreted consistently by user agents, including assistive technology. If it is ambiguous, different user agents including assistive technologies could present different information to their users. Users of assistive technology for example may have different information presented to them than users of other mainstream user agents. Some elements and attributes in markup languages are required to have unique values, and if this requirement is not honored, the result can be irregular or not uniquely resolvable content. For example, when id attribute values are not unique, they are particularly problematic when referenced by labels, headers in data tables, or used as fragment identifiers, as user agents do not have enough information to provide determine essential relationships (i.e. to determine which label goes with which item).
A label element whose for attribute value is an idref that points to a non-existent id
An id attribute value that is not unique.
An accesskey attribute value that is not unique
No resources available for this technique.
(none currently listed)
Check for id and accesskey values which are not unique within the document.
Check that attribute values that have an idref value have a corresponding id value.
For tables that use the axis attribute, check that all values listed in the axis attribute have a corresponding id value in a table header cell in the same table.
For client-side image maps, check that the value of the usemap attribute has a corresponding id value if the usemap attribute is not a URL.
If step #1, step #3 or step #4 is true or step #2 is false, then this failure condition applies and the content fails the success criterion.
Sites that provide alternative, WCAG conforming versions of nonconforming primary content.
This failure relates to:
This failure technique describes the situation in which an alternate, conforming version of the content is provided, but there is no direct way for a user to tell that it is available or where to find it. Such content fails the Success Criterion because the user cannot find the conforming version.
A link or a search takes a user directly to one of the nonconforming pages in the Web site. There is neither an indication that an alternate page is available, nor a path to the alternate page from the nonconforming page.
Nonconforming pages on the Web site inform the user that a conforming version is available and provide a link to the home page. However, the user must search the site for the conforming version of the page, so the functionality does not meet the requirements of the Success Criterion.
A user is able to use the nonconforming Web site for most pages. But when the user is not able to access a particular page, there is no way to find the conforming version of the page.
Identify a nonconforming page that has an alternative conforming version.
Determine if the nonconforming page provides a link to the conforming version.
If step #2 is false, the content fails the Success Criterion.
Applies to all technologies.
This failure relates to:
The objective of this failure condition is to address situations where the non-text content is updated, but the text alternative is not updated at the same time. If the text in the text alternative cannot still be used in place of the non-text content without losing information or function, then it fails because it is no longer a text alternative for the non-text content.
Failure Example 1: A Sales chart is updated to October results, but the text alternative still describes September results.
Failure Example 2: Pictures on a home page change daily, but text alternatives are not updated at the same time.
Failure Example 3: The source attribute of images on a page is updated periodically using script, but the text alternatives are not updated at the same time.
No resources available for this technique.
(none currently listed)
Check each text alternative to see if it is describing content other than the currently-displayed non-text content.
If step #1 is true then the text alternative is not up to date with current item, this failure condition applies, and content fails these Success Criteria.
General
This failure relates to:
Failure due to opening new windows when the user does not expect them. New windows take the focus away from what the user is reading or doing. This is fine when the user has interacted with a piece of User Interface and expects to get a new window, such as an options dialog. The failure comes when pop-ups appear unexpectedly.
When a user navigates to a page, a new window appears over the existing user agent window, and the focus is moved to the new window.
A user clicks on a link, and a new window appears. The original link has no associated text saying that it will open a new window.
A user clicks on the body of a page and a new window appears. No indication that the area that was clicked has functionality is present.
A user clicks on undecorated text within the page and a new window appears. The page has no visible indication that the area is functional.
No resources available for this technique.
Load the Web page.
Check if new (additional) windows open.
Find every actionable element, such as links and buttons, in the Web page.
Activate each element.
Check if activating the element opens a new window.
Check if elements that open new windows have associated text saying that will happen. The text can be displayed in the link, or available through a hidden association such as an HTML title attribute.
If step #2 is true, the failure condition applies and the content fails the Success Criterion
If step #5 is true and step #6 is false, the failure condition applies and the content fails the Success Criterion
Applies to all technologies except those for voice interaction.
This failure relates to:
This describes a failure condition for Success Criteria involving sound. If sound does not turn off automatically within 3 seconds and there is no way to turn the sound off then Success Criterion 1.4.2 would not be met. Sounds that play over 3 seconds when there is no mechanism to turn off the sound included in the content would fall within this failure condition.
A site that plays continuous background music
A site with a narrator that lasts more than 3 seconds before stopping, and there is no mechanism to stop it.
No resources available for this technique.
(none currently listed)
Check that there is a way in a Web page to turn off any sound that plays automatically for more than three seconds.
If step #1 is not true then content fails Success Criterion 1.4.2
All technologies that allow user agents to control foreground and background colors through personal stylesheets or other means.
This failure relates to:
Users with vision loss or cognitive challenges often require specific foreground and background color combinations. For instance, many people with low vision find it much easier to see a Web page that has white text on a black background, so they may have set their user agent to create this contrast. If the author specifies that the text must be black, then it may override the settings of the user agent and render a page that has black text (specified by the author) on black background (that was set in the user agent). This principle also works in reverse. If the Webmaster forces the background to be white, then the white background specified by the author would be the same color as the white text (which was set in the user agent) rendering the page unusable to the user. Therefore, if the author specifies a foreground text color then they should also specify a background color which has sufficient contrast (link) with the foreground and vice versa.
Note: All states of the text should be included. For example, text, link text, visited link text etc.
In the example below the background color is defined on the body element, however the foreground color is not defined. Therefore, the example fails the Success Criterion.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<html>
<head>
<title>A study of population dynamics</title>
</head>
<body bgcolor="white">
<p> ... document body...</p>
</body>
</html>In the example below the foreground color is defined on the body element, however the background color is not defined. Therefore, the example fails the Success Criterion.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <html> <head> <title>A study of population dynamics</title> </head> <body color="white"> <p>... document body...</p> </body> </html>
In the example below the background color is defined on the CSS stylesheet, however the foreground color is not defined. Therefore, the example fails the Success Criterion.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<html>
<head>
<title>Setting the canvas background</title>
<style type="text/css">
body {background-color:white}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p>My background is white.</p>
</body>
</html>In the example below the foreground color is defined on the CSS stylesheet, however the background color is not defined. Therefore, the example fails the Success Criterion.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<html>
<head>
<title>Setting the canvas background</title>
<style type="text/css">
body {color:white}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p>My foreground is white.</p>
</body>
</html>In the example below the link text (foreground) color is defined on the body element. However, the background color is not defined. Therefore, the example fails the Success Criterion.
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<html>
<head>
<title>A study of population dynamics</TITLE>
<style type="text/css">
a:link { color: red }
a:visited { color: maroon }
a:active { color: fuchsia }
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p>... document body... <a href="foo.htm">Foo</a></p>
</body>
</html>Resources are for information purposes only, no endorsement implied.
(none currently listed)
Examine the code of the Web page.
Check to see if a foreground color is specified
Check to see if a background color is specified
Note 1: Color and background color may be specified at any level in the cascade of preceding selectors, by external stylesheets or through inheritance rules.
Note 2: Background color may also be specified using a background image with the CSS property 'background-image' or with the CSS property 'background' (with the URL of the image, e.g. 'background: url("images/bg.gif")'). With background images, it is still necessary to specify a background color, because users may have images turned off in their browser. But the background image and the background color need to be checked.
If step #2 is true but step #3 is false, OR if step #3 is true but step #2 is false then this failure condition applies and content fails these Success Criteria.
All technologies.
This failure relates to:
This describes a failure condition when the Web page has a title, but the title does not identify the contents or purpose of the Web page.
Examples of text that are not titles include:
Authoring tool default titles, such as
"Enter the title of your HTML document here,"
"Untitled Document"
"No Title"
"Untitled Page"
"New Page 1"
Filenames that are not descriptive in their own right, such as "report.html" or "spk12.html"
Empty text
Filler or placeholder text
A site generated using templates includes the same title for each page on the site. So the title cannot be used to distinguish among the pages.
No resources available for this technique.
Check whether the title of each Web page identifies the contents or purpose of the Web page .
If step #1 is false, then this failure condition applies and the content fails this Success Criterion.
All technologies.
This failure relates to:
The objective of this technique is to show how using a graphical symbol to convey information can make content difficult to comprehend. A graphical symbol may be an image, an image of text or a pictorial or decorative character symbol (glyph) which imparts information nonverbally. Examples of graphical symbols include an image of a red circle with a line through it, a "smiley" face, or a glyph which represents a check mark, arrow, or other symbol but is not the character with that meaning. Assistive technology users may have difficulty determining the meaning of the graphical symbol. If a graphical symbol is used to convey information, provide an alternative using features of the technology or use a different mechanism that can be marked with an alternative to represent the graphical symbol. For example, an image with a text alternative can be used instead of the glyph.
A shopping cart uses two simple glyphs to indicate whether an item is available for immediate shipment. A check mark indicates that the item is in stock and ready to ship. An "x" mark indicates that the item is currently on back order and not available for immediate shipment. An assistive technology user could not determine the status of the current item.
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Examine the page for non-text marks that convey information.
Check whether there are other means to determine the information conveyed by the non-text marks.
If step #2 is false, then this failure condition applies and the content fails this Success Criterion.
Applies to all technologies.
This failure relates to:
This describes a failure condition for all techniques involving text alternatives. If the text in the "text alternative" cannot be used in place of the non-text content without losing information or function then it fails because it is not, in fact, an alternative to the non-text content.
Examples of text that are not text alternatives include:
placeholder text such as " " or "spacer" or "image" or "picture" etc that are put into the 'text alternative' location on images or pictures.
programming references that do not convey the information or function of the non-text content such as "picture 1", "picture 2" or "0001", "0002" or "Intro#1", "Intro#2".
filenames that are not valid text alternatives in their own right such as "Oct.jpg" or "Chart.jpg" or "sales\\oct\\top3.jpg"
No resources available for this technique.
(none currently listed)
Check each text alternative to see if it is not actually a text alternative for the non-text content.
If step #1 is true then this failure condition applies and content fails the Success Criterion.
Applies to all technologies.
This failure relates to:
Components that have the same function in different Web pages are more easily recognized if they are labeled consistently. If the naming is not consistent, some users may get confused.
Note: Text alternatives that are "consistent" are not always "identical." For instance, you may have an graphical arrow at the bottom of a Web page that links to the next Web page. The text alternative may say "Go to page 4." Naturally, it would not be appropriate to repeat this exact text alternative on the next Web page. It would be more appropriate to say "Go to page 5". Although these text alternatives would not be identical, they would be consistent, and therefore would not be failures for this Success Criterion.
One of the most common examples of using inconsistent labels for components with the same function is to use a button that says "search" in one page and to use a button that says "find" on another page when they both serve the identical function.
An online authoring tool that uses a button with "Save page" on one page and "Save" on another page, in both cases for the same function.
No resources available for this technique.
(none currently listed)
In a set of Web pages, find components with the same function that are repeated in multiple Web pages.
For each component with the same function found in step #1, check that the naming is consistent.
If step #2 is false then this failure condition applies and content fails the Success Criterion.
All technologies.
This failure relates to:
The objective of this technique is to describe how using white space characters, such as space, tab, line break, or carriage return, to format individual words visually can be a failure to present meaningful sequences properly. When blank characters are inserted to control letter spacing within a word, they may change the interpretation of the word or cause it not to be programmatically recognized as a single word.
Inserting white space characters into an initialism is not an example of this failure, since the white space does not change the interpretation of the initialism and may make it easier to understand.
The use of white space between words for visual formatting is not a failure, since it does not change the interpretation of the words.
This example has white spaces within a word to space out the letters in a heading. Screen readers may read each letter individually instead of the word "Welcome."
<h1>W e l c o m e</h1>
can also be used to add white space, producing similar failures:
<h1>H E L L O</h1>
In Japanese, Han characters (Kanji) may have multiple readings that mean very different things. In this example, the word is read incorrectly because screen readers may not recognize these characters as a word because of the white space between the characters. The characters mean "Tokyo," but screen readers say "Higashi Kyo".
<h1>東 京</h1>
In the row header cell of a data table containing Japanese text, authors often create vertical text by using line break characters. However screen readers are not able to read the words in vertical text correctly because the line breaks occur within the word. In the following example, "東京都"(Tokyo-to) will be read "Higashi Kyo Miyako".
<table> <caption>表1. 都道府県別一覧表</caption> <tr> <td></td> <th scope="col">（見出しセル 1.）</th> <th scope="col">（見出しセル 2.）</th> </tr> <tr> <th scope="row">東<br />京<br />都</th> <td>（データセル 1.）</td> <td>（データセル 2.）</td> </tr> ・・・・・・ </table>
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For each word that appears to have non-standard spacing between characters:
Check whether any words in the text of the content contain white space characters .
If step #1 is true, then this failure condition applies and the content fails this Success Criterion.
All technologies.
This failure relates to:
The objective of this technique is to describe how using white space characters, such as space, tab, line break, or carriage return, to format columns of data in text content is a failure to use structure properly. Assistive technologies will interpret content in the reading order of the current language. Using white space characters to create multiple columns does not provide the inf