- Success Criterion 2.4.2
- Conformance level A
Page Title That Doesn’t Reflect the Current Step or State
2.4.2 — Page Titled
Scenario
Setting
A project-management tool's task board
What’s wrong
Search/results/step pages not reflecting state ("Checkout" on all 5 steps).
Example
<title></title>Why it matters
Screen-reader users who hear the title first, and anyone managing many tabs.
How to test
Check titles on search results, multi-step forms, or status pages: if the title doesn't reflect the current state ('Checkout' shown identically on all 5 steps), it fails.
How to fix
Every page/view must have a unique, descriptive title identifying its content, updated on in-app navigation.
<title>Checkout — Step 2 of 3: Shipping — Acme Store</title>A descriptive, unique title lets users identify and switch between tabs or windows without guessing.
Outcome
On a project-management tool's task board, this barrier is gone for screen-reader users who hear the title first — they get the same result as anyone else here.
Who is affected
Screen-reader users who hear the title first, and anyone managing many tabs.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- Page Title That Doesn’t Say What the Page Actually Is
- Page Published With a Missing or Empty Title Tag
- Identical Page Title Repeated Across an Entire Website
- Single-Page App Title That Never Updates Between Views
- Page Title That’s Just the Brand Name, No Topic
- Page Title Where the Distinguishing Word Gets Cut Off