Location (2.4.8 – Level AAA)

‘Location’ requires you to let users know where they are on your website.

Some of your users will have problems understanding the structure of your website. They can get lost, especially during interactions like checkouts that take place over a few pages.

You can help your users by making it clear where they are on your website.

How to Pass ‘Location’

• Use breadcrumbs to help with navigation. Show the sequence a user is following and where they are in that sequence. For examplem, You are here: Home > Fish > Bass; and
  
• Add a sitemap page to your website (see Multiple Ways) so your users have another way of finding what they want. Add a link to the sitemap somewhere prominent like the header.

‘Location’ Tips

Use full page titles for breadcrumbs when they are 1-3 words long.

Abbreviate longer titles to make them easier to read (for example, ‘A Guide to Exotic Fish’ could just as well be ‘Exotic Fish’ for the purpose of a breadcrumb).

For a process that takes a few pages (like a shopping cart), show all the steps in the process and highlight where the user is.

If a page has a too many breadcrumbs, perhaps your website could be better organised.

Use your page titles in your sitemap, organised under subheadings.

See Also

• 2.4.2 – Page Titled
• 2.4.5 – Multiple Ways
• Understanding Success Criterion 2.4.8 (W3C)