- Success Criterion 1.3.3
- Conformance level A
Instruction Referencing a Table Column With No Real Header Name
1.3.3 — Sensory Characteristics
Scenario
Setting
A food delivery app's restaurant menu
What’s wrong
Instructions referencing visual position in a table/figure ("the third column") when the referent has no header/name.
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 a table/figure instruction alone (e.g., 'see the third column'): check whether that column also has a name a screen reader user could reference.
How to fix
Instructions must name the control or content in text, not only by shape, color, size, position, or sound.
<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 food delivery app's restaurant menu, this barrier is gone for blind, low-vision — they can complete the task without hitting this wall.
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 an Audio Cue With No Visual Backup