1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence
Conformance level: A
Criterion released in WCAG version: 2.0
Official description of the success criterion
When the sequence in which content is presented affects its meaning, a correct reading sequence can be programmatically determined.
What to do?
Ensure that content is presented in a meaningful order.
It's optimal if the DOM order matches the visual order.
Why is it important?
Assists users who rely on assistive technologies to understand the content.
Common pitfalls
There are some common failures for this:
- Using white space characters to create table-like or column-like content.
- Changing the meaning of content by positioning information with CSS.
- Poor HTML structure, for example using layout tables that don't provide the same information when they are read linearly.
How to test for it?
Check the reading order and ensure it makes sense. One way to do this is to remove the CSS styles from the page and check if the content is understandable without the visual styles.