Location:
Understanding SC 2.4.8
2.4.8 Location: Information about the user's location within a set of Web pages is available. (Level AAA)
Intent of this Success Criterion
The intent of this Success Criterion is to provide a way for the user to orient herself within a set of Web pages, a Web site, or a Web application and find related information.
Specific Benefits of Success Criterion 2.4.8:
This Success Criterion is helpful for people with a short attention span who may become confused when following a long series of navigation steps to a Web page. It is also helpful when a user follows a link directly to a page deep within a set of Web pages and needs to navigate that Web site to understand the content of that page or to find more related information.
Examples of Success Criterion 2.4.8
Links to help user determine their location in a site
A research group is part of an educational department at a university. The group's home page links to the department home page and the university's home page.
A breadcrumb trail
A portal Web site organizes topics into categories. As the user navigates through categories and subcategories, a breadcrumb trail shows the current location in the hierarchy of categories. Each page also contains a link to the portal home page.
Related Resources
Resources are for information purposes only, no endorsement implied.
Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.4.8 - Location
Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.
Sufficient Techniques
Additional Techniques (Advisory) for 2.4.8
Although not required for conformance, the following additional techniques should be considered in order to make content more accessible. Not all techniques can be used or would be effective in all situations.
PDF14: Providing running headers and footers in PDF documents (PDF)
PDF17: Specifying consistent page numbering for PDF documents (PDF)
Providing a link to the home page or main page (future link)
Providing an easy-to-read version of information about the organization of a set of Web pages (future link)
Providing a sign language version of information about the organization of a set of Web pages (future link)
Providing an easy-to-read summary at the beginning of each section of content (future link)
Common Failures for SC 2.4.8
The following are common mistakes that are considered failures of Success Criterion 2.4.8 by the WCAG Working Group.
(No failures currently documented)
Key Terms
- set of Web pages
collection of Web pages that share a common purpose and that are created by the same author, group or organization
Note: Different language versions would be considered different sets of Web pages.