Notification of Loading/Busy
SC Shortname
Notification of Loading/Busy:
SC Text
After initial page load, programmatic notification is provided for each visual indicator that content is loading or the page is busy
Suggested Priority Level
Level AA
Related Glossary additions or changes
Programmatic notification: Notification by software from data provided in a user-agent-supported manner such that the user agents can extract and present this notification to users in different modalities, without further action by the user, except for focusing on the control which caused the change, or activating the control which caused the change.
What Principle and Guideline the SC falls within
Principle: Perceivable
Proposed new Guideline 1.5
Notification: Make it easier for users to know about changes to dynamic content
Description (Intent)
The purpose of this Success Criterion is to ensure screen readers users such as those who are blind or who have low vision, are aware that a page is reloading or busy when changes are happening to a web page and there is a visual indication.
Dynamic changes to a page sometimes cause the page to become inactive for a period of time while it is being updated. Users of assistive technology may think the page has crashed and may loose their work if they either reload the page or leave the page thinking the browser crashed. This notification will ensure they are aware that something is happening in the background, the way that sighted users are aware when they see a spinning icon or the words "loading". If there is no such visual indication there is no requirement in the Success Criterion to provide programmatic notification, only when there is a visual notification, is there a requirement to make that notification also programmatic. This is not about the initial wait to load a new page. Those are announced to screen readers.
Specific Benefits of Success Criterion
- Users who are blind will know if a shopping cart was successfully updated, or if form was successfully submitted, or if there were errors on their form.
- Helps people with visual disabilities, cognitive limitations, and motor impairments by reducing the chance that a control will be accidentally activated or action will occur unexpectedly.
- Individuals who are unable to detect changes on the page will be able to know what people who can see those changes know.
Testability
This can be tested programmatically or functionally. In the code identify elements that are updated and ensure they have programming that exposes the user to this new data. this is primarily accomplished with aria-live. Functionally a screen reader can be run while the page is updating to determine changes to the page are announced to the user.
Techniques
Using live regions to notify users of changes to a page.
Comments
The frequency threshold for the real time update exception could be determined in consultation with a number of blind users, to ensure there is not too much noise on the page, and this language can be added to the SC.