Tag: Operable

Provide user controls to pause, stop and hide moving and auto-updating content.

Introduction

Moving or auto-updating content on a website can cause difficulties for users with visual or cognitive impairments. These users may not be able to perceive the information before it changes or may be distracted by the movement.

Alongside avoiding moving content, you can help users by providing them with simple controls.

How to Pass ‘Pause, Stop, Hide’

• Ensure moving, blinking or scrolling content has a control to pause, stop or hide it.
  
• Ensure auto-updating content has a control to pause, stop, hide or control the frequency of updates.

Exceptions

• The moving, blinking, scrolling or auto-updating content starts only by user request.
  
• The moving, blinking, scrolling or auto-updating content is not presented in parallel with other content (for example, a full-page advert displayed before users reach your webpage).
  
• The moving, blinking or scrolling content lasts less than five seconds.
  
• The movement is essential (for example, an animation that shows users that something is loading, if it would otherwise look like your website was frozen).

‘Pause, Stop, Hide’ Tips

When a user pauses and unpauses content, let them continue where they left off if the content is pre-set but take them to the current display if the content is real-time.

A rough guide is that “blinking” content pulses less than three times per second.  Anything that pulses faster is “flashing” content and has its own rules (see Three Flashes or Below and Three Flashes). The distinction falls on the line between what may cause a seizure in a user (flashing) and what is more of a distraction than a hazard (blinking).

My advice is to remove anything that blinks or flashes and never auto-play content – that way you pass without having to build all the controls or time it to five seconds.

See Also

• Timing Adjustable
• Three Flashes or Below
• Three Flashes
• Understanding Success Criterion 2.2.2 (W3C)

‘Timing Adjustable’ requires that you provide user controls to turn off, adjust or extend time limits.

Introduction

Users with visual, motor or cognitive impairments may need more time than others to understand and use your website. Any time controls or limits can make using your website difficult for these users.

How to Pass ‘Timing Adjustable’

If content on your website uses a time limit:

• Give users an option to turn off the time limit before it begins (for example, a landing page before the time-limited page can display a message that shows users what to do); or
  
• Give users the option to adjust the time limit before it begins, over a range of at least ten times the default setting (you can do this with a landing page too); or
  
• Give users the option to extend the period at least twenty seconds before it expires. This must be a simple action like clicking a button and must be available to use at least ten times.

If your website has moving or animated text, users must be able to pause the movement.

If your website has a feature that is automatically updated (for example, with the latest football scores), you must allow users to delay the frequency of the updates by at least ten times the default setting.

Exceptions

• The time limit is due to real-time events, like bidding in an auction or a livestream
  
  
• The time limit is essential for your business. For example, a ticket sales website that saves a reservation for ten minutes because demand is high and giving users unlimited time would undermine the business process
  
• The time limit is more than 20 hours.

‘Timing Adjustable’ Tips

Take as much content outside of time limits as possible but consider your users’ security. For example, logging out of an account after a period of inactivity is a positive use of a time limit.

Make sure any user controls you provide are keyboard accessible.

The exceptions of the time limit being essential or over 20 hours are both removed at Level AAA in No Timing. 

If you use a pop-up to give your users the option to extend a time limit, consider Interruptions.

See Also

• Pause, Stop Hide
• No Timing
• No Interruptions
• Re-authenticating
• Understanding Success Criterion 2.2.1 (W3C)