Level A · WCAG 2.0
1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics
Instructions cannot depend only on shape, size, position, colour or sound.
Manual only No automated check says anything useful.
How it fails in practice
“Press the round button on the right to continue.” “Fields marked in red are required.”
How to fix it
Name the thing as well as placing it: “Press Continue, the round button on the right.” Keep the visual cue — just do not let it be the only one.
At a glance
- Level
- Level A — the minimum. Failing one of these usually makes something impossible rather than merely hard.
- Principle
- Perceivable
- Guideline
- 1.3 Adaptable
- Added in
- WCAG 2.0
- EN 301 549
- 9.1.3.3
- Automated check
- Manual only
Manual only
How far an automated check gets
Nothing automatic decides this. A scanner that reports it as passing is reporting that it did not look. It stays untested until a person tests it and records what they did — which is exactly how we treat it: as untested, not as passed.
Related criteria
Other criteria under the same guideline.
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