- Success Criterion 2.4.5
- Conformance level AA
Deep Pages Reachable Only Through One Navigation Path
2.4.5 — Multiple Ways
Scenario
Setting
A hospital's patient portal appointment scheduler
What’s wrong
Deep pages reachable only by drilling one navigation path — no search, no sitemap, no index/related links.
Example
On a hospital's patient portal appointment scheduler: deep pages reachable only by drilling one navigation path — no search, no sitemap, no index/related links.
Why it matters
People with cognitive or visual disabilities who prefer search, sitemaps, or alternate nav styles. On a hospital's patient portal appointment scheduler, that means they can't tell how the page is organized.
How to test
Map out the site's navigation: if deep pages are reachable only by drilling one single path with no search or sitemap, it fails.
How to fix
At least two working ways (navigation menu, search, sitemap, index) must exist to reach the content.
Outcome
With the fix in place on a hospital's patient portal appointment scheduler, they move through the content with confidence.
Who is affected
People with cognitive or visual disabilities who prefer search, sitemaps, or alternate nav styles.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- Website With No Real Second Way to Find Content
- Site Search That’s Broken or Doesn’t Index Most Pages
- Sitemap Link That Leads to an Empty or Outdated Page
- Sequential-Only Article Pagination With No Table of Contents
- Search Results Page That Can Only Be Reached via Search
- Second Way to Navigate Available on Desktop but Not Mobile