- Success Criterion 1.3.3
- Conformance level A
- W3C reference F14
Instructions That Identify Something Only by Shape or Position
1.3.3 — Sensory Characteristics
Scenario
Setting
A music streaming app's playlist screen
What’s wrong
Instructions identify something only by its shape or position. 'click the round button' or 'use the box on the right' — which is meaningless to blind users or when the layout changes.
Example
<p>Click the round green button to submit.</p>Why it matters
Blind, low-vision, and color-blind people when instructions mention only appearance or sound.
How to test
Read the instruction text alone, without seeing the layout: 'the box on the right' or 'the round button' means nothing without sight — check for a text/name reference instead.
How to fix
Name the control or content in the instruction ('select Submit') instead of describing its shape or position.
<p>Click the <strong>Submit</strong> button (green, bottom right).</p>Instructions must work by name, not by relying on shape, color, or position alone.
Outcome
On a music streaming app's playlist screen, this barrier is gone for blind, low-vision — they can finish what they came here to do.
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)
- Technique Related technique (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- 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