- Success Criterion 1.3.3
- Conformance level A
Instruction That Relies on an Audio Cue With No Visual Backup
1.3.3 — Sensory Characteristics
Scenario
Setting
A calendar app's event-creation form
What’s wrong
Audio-only cues: "when you hear the chime, proceed".
Example
A calendar app's event-creation form is a good example: audio-only cues: "when you hear the chime, proceed".
Why it matters
Blind, low-vision, and color-blind people when instructions mention only appearance or sound. On a calendar app's event-creation form specifically, they can't navigate the content by its real structure.
How to test
Read the instruction alone: 'when you hear the chime, proceed' relies purely on sound — check for a visual/text equivalent for deaf users.
How to fix
Instructions must name the control or content in text, not only by shape, color, size, position, or sound.
Outcome
Fixed, a visitor to a calendar app's event-creation form can move through the content with confidence.
Who is affected
Blind, low-vision, and color-blind people when instructions mention only appearance or sound.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- 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 a Swipe Direction With No Named Alternative