Understanding SC 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics
Instructions provided for understanding and operating content do not rely solely on sensory characteristics of components such as shape, size, visual location, orientation, or sound. (Level A)
This success criterion requires that instructions or information to understand or operate the web content do not use only visual or auditory clues. Such clues include shape, size, location, orientation and sound clues. This doesn’t mean use of shape and/or location is discouraged altogether as using shape and/or size is an effective way of providing information. Similarly, in some of the languages, ‘above’ and ‘below’ mean the immediate ‘previous’ or ‘after’ contents. In such cases, if the reading order is correct, then it is fine with statements like “Choose one of the options below”.
Note that this success criterion applies only to digital content and not to physical devices such as ATMs or check-in kiosks where the shape of the physical buttons (tactile clues) must be understood in their form.
For Whom it benefits
Examples that would fail
How do I address this?
To address this, simply use more than one clue to instruct or inform the users. Using a combination of shape/size/location/orientation along with color/text would take care of all the users’ needs.
