Understanding WCAG SC 3.2.6 Consistent Help (Level A)
If a Web page contains any of the following help mechanisms, and those mechanisms are repeated on multiple Web pages within a set of Web pages, they occur in the same order relative to other page content, unless a change is initiated by the user:
- Human contact details;
- Human contact mechanism;
- Self-help option;
- A fully automated contact mechanism.
The goal of this success criterion is to ensure that the users find the help to complete a task in a consistent location across a set of web pages. When a help the mechanism is available in a set of web pages it is available in the same order relative to other contents of the pages. By this, the criterion lays out that the help mechanisms when available, must be in the same order across the set of pages when all such pages are at the same zoom level and at the same orientation. Wen the users initiate a change with a different zoom or orientation, then it is considered as a different variation of the same page. So, based on the user initiation, location of the help mechanism may vary but it should be consistent across such variations too.
Exceptions
This success criterion does not mandate a help mechanism; it just insists that if any or all the help mechanisms listed above are provided, then they must be consistently located. Also, help PDFs are not covered by this success criterion. Besides, any user-initiated changes like zooming and orientation are excluded.
Who Benefits?
Users with cognitive disabilities or any user who requires help and finds it hard to
locate help mechanisms.
Points to Ponder
- It is always best to provide specific help mechanisms like human contact, self-help etc. for users to complete complex tasks
- Provide such help mechanisms in the same order that is consistent across a
set of web pages - Ensure help mechanisms across the entire site are consistently and easily
locatable.
