Definition for WCAG 2.0 success criterion 3.2.3
3.2.3 Consistent Navigation: Navigational mechanisms that are repeated on multiple Web pages within a set of Web pages occur in the same relative order each time they are repeated, unless a change is initiated by the user.
The intent of this Success Criterion is to encourage the use of consistent presentation and layout for users who interact with repeated content within a set of Web pages and need to locate specific information or functionality more than once. Individuals with low vision who use screen magnification to display a small portion of the screen at a time often use visual cues and page boundaries to quickly locate repeated content. Presenting repeated content in the same order is also important for visual users who use spatial memory or visual cues within the design to locate repeated content.
It is important to note that the use of the phrase "same order" in this section is not meant to imply that sub-navigation menus cannot be used or that blocks of secondary navigation or page structure cannot be used. Instead, this Success Criterion is intended to assist users who interact with repeated content across Web pages to be able to predict the location of the content they are looking for and find it more quickly when they encounter it again.
Users may initiate a change in the order by using adaptive user agents or by setting preferences so that the information is presented in a way that is most useful to them.
Note: this criterion applies to "pages within a set of Web pages". WCAG 2.0 defines this as a "collection of Web pages that share a common purpose and that are created by the same author, group or organization". This allows for some subjective interpretation on the part of a tester. In general all pages within a site can be considered part of a "set of Web pages"; specific sections of a site can also be interpreted as standalone "sets" of page, meaning that here the requirement would be for consistency within the set, rather than needing to be consistent with the rest of the overall site. For instance, all pages relating purely to the checkout process in an online store usually do not feature the full navigation found in the store-front part of the site (to avoid users accidentally navigating away/out of the checkout process).
Note this success criterion applies to complete pages. If the sample being tested is merely a sub-component of a full page (such as a modal dialog present in a much larger overall web page), this criterion is marked as not applicable.
Testing success criterion 3.2.3
Input into spreadsheet
- ❌ Fail
- Navigation mechanisms on the page are not consistent with other pages in the same set of pages (some mechanisms may be missing on certain pages, the mechanisms may appear in a different order in the page structure, or their individual elements/components may be in a different order).
- ✔ Pass
- All navigation mechanisms on the page are consistent (in terms of which mechanisms are present, their relative order in the page structure, and the order of their individual elements/components) with the other pages in the same set of pages.
How to test
- Verify that navigation mechanisms (such as navigation bars at the top of the page, left-hand navigation bars, links appearing in the footer, etc.) on the page are consistent with the navigation mechanisms in other pages within the same set of Web pages.
- Verify that the order in which the various navigation mechanisms are present is the same in this page as in the other pages within the same set of Web pages (e.g. that individual links, search forms, etc. present in the navigation bar at the top of the page appear in the same order throughout the set of pages, and that the navigation at the top of the page always precedes the main content of the page throughout the set of pages). Refer to success criterion 2.4.3 Focus order (level A).