- Success Criterion 1.3.3
- Conformance level A
1.3.3 · Sensory Characteristics
Lesson overview · Sensory Characteristics
In plain language
Instructions must not rely only on shape, position, size, or sound ('click the green button on the right').
Who it affects
Blind, low-vision, and color-blind people when instructions mention only appearance or sound.
How to check
Read every instruction and ask: would it still work if you couldn't see the layout or hear the sound? Each referenced control must be named in text.
Common misconception
“Click the blue button on the right” feels harmless to a sighted reviewer, but it gives a blind user nothing to act on. Every reference needs a name, not just a location or color.
Learn more
Scenarios in this lesson
- Instructions That Identify Something Only by Shape or Position
- Instruction Given Only Through an Icon, With No Text Meaning
- Instruction That Tells Users to Click ‘the Green Button’
- Instruction That Says ‘See the Sidebar’ With No Other Locator
- Instruction That Identifies a Button Only by Its Size
- Instruction That Relies on an Audio Cue With No Visual Backup
- Instruction That Relies on a Swipe Direction With No Named Alternative
- Instruction Referencing a Table Column With No Real Header Name
- Video Instruction That Points at Something Without Naming It
- Instruction Naming an Icon’s Shape Instead of Its Function