- Success Criterion 1.4.1
- Conformance level A
Highlighted Text Meant to Signal Importance by Color Alone
1.4.1 — Use of Color
Scenario
Setting
A coworking-space booking app
What’s wrong
Text highlighted in color to mean "important/changed" with no other cue (interacts with 1.3.1).
Example
A tester reviewing a coworking-space booking app finds this: text highlighted in color to mean "important/changed" with no other cue (interacts with 1.3.1).
Why it matters
People with color-vision deficiency, low vision, or constrained viewing conditions such as strong glare. On a coworking-space booking app specifically, they can't perceive part of the content because of how it's displayed.
How to test
View text highlighted to mean 'important' or 'changed' in grayscale: if the highlight's meaning disappears, it fails.
How to fix
A second visual cue (text, underline, icon, or pattern) must convey the information alongside color.
Outcome
Fixed, a visitor to a coworking-space booking app can see the control's boundary and current state.
Who is affected
People with color-vision deficiency, low vision, or constrained viewing conditions such as strong glare.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- Chart Legend Colors Never Explained in the Image’s Alt Text
- In-Text Links Distinguishable From Body Text Only by Color
- Required or Error Fields Marked Only by a Red Border
- Chart Data Series Told Apart Only by Line or Bar Color
- Online/Offline Status Shown Only as a Colored Dot
- Form Validation That Turns Borders Red as the Only Cue