Level AA · WCAG 2.0
2.4.5 Multiple Ways
There is more than one way to find a page — search, a sitemap, navigation, a related-links list.
Partly automated Some failures are detectable, others need judgement.
How it fails in practice
A documentation site reachable only by clicking through a nested menu, with no search and no index.
How to fix it
Two routes is the bar. Navigation plus search is the usual pair; navigation plus a real sitemap page also counts.
At a glance
- Level
- Level AA — the level EN 301 549 requires, and therefore the level the BFSG and the EAA are measured against.
- Principle
- Operable
- Guideline
- 2.4 Navigable
- Added in
- WCAG 2.0
- EN 301 549
- 9.2.4.5
- Automated check
- Partly automated
Partly automated
How far an automated check gets
A tool finds some failures here and cannot see the rest. A clean automated result means the checks that exist found nothing — not that the criterion is met. This is the gap that makes a green scan look like an accessible site, and it is where the keyboard agent, the agents still in development and a human reviewer do the remaining work.
Where it matters most
The guides that list it among the criteria to check first.
Related criteria
Other criteria under the same guideline.
Find out which criteria your site fails
We scan up to 100 pages against WCAG 2.2 AA, send the keyboard agent through the page you name and email you the report — free, once, no strings.