3.1.4 Abbreviations
Conformance level: AAA
Criterion released in WCAG version: 2.0
TL;DR: Expand or explain abbreviations so users can understand them. Don’t assume everyone knows what acronyms mean in your context.
Official description of the success criterion
A mechanism for identifying the expanded form or meaning of abbreviations is available.
What to do?
Provide expanded forms or definitions for abbreviations. You can provide these in multiple ways, here are some examples:
- Providing the abbreviation and the expanded form immediately before or after the other.
- Link to the definition.
- Use the
<abbr>element to provide the definition. - Provide a glossary.
- Link to a glossary.
Why is it important?
Assists users in understanding shortened forms of words.