This translation has not been editorially reviewed yet. The German version is authoritative. Deutsche Fassung

Accessibility

Why aren't instructions like "the green button on the right" enough on websites?

Instructions like "the green button on the right" aren't enough, because they rely solely on sight and screen layout. A blind visitor knows neither colours nor positions, and on a phone, "right" often ends up lower down. Instructions must therefore always also work through the element's name: "Click 'Submit'".

Instructions that work for everyone

This rule concerns the wording on your website. "Fill in the field on the right", "click the round button", "the offers marked in red are valid today only" — all of this assumes the visitor perceives shapes, colours, and positions. A blind visitor hears these sentences and is stuck: their screen reader knows no "right" and no "red". People with colour blindness — and there are many — also fail with pure colour references. The solution is simple: name the element by its name. "Click 'Request offer'" works for everyone, because the screen reader announces the name too, and it stays the same on a phone.

How our audit handles this criterion

Whether a sentence like "the button on the right" appears anywhere on your page is a question of language understanding — a machine can search text for such patterns, but can't reliably decide whether a phrase, in context, is really the only orientation given, or whether a named alternative sits alongside it. Our measurement engine sticks to its principle: what it can't measure reliably, it doesn't claim either. The criterion therefore appears in the report as a human check point. At the Gold Standard level, an auditor reads your instructions and form texts and flags every spot that relies solely on colour, shape, or position.

Examples

Note only on form and location

Not met

<p>Klicken Sie auf den runden Knopf rechts, um fortzufahren.</p>

Passes

<p>Klicken Sie auf „Weiter“, um fortzufahren.</p>

Anyone who hears the page or reads linearly has no “right” and no “round button”. The name of the element shall be indicated.

Search your texts for words like "right", "left", "top", "bottom", "red", and "green" — and add the name of the intended element at these spots.
Word instructions using the visible label text: "Click 'Next'" instead of "click below".
Check your forms: required fields should be marked with a word like "required", not just with a colour or an asterisk alone.
Ask your editorial team to read new instruction texts aloud once — position references stand out immediately that way.
Keep the phone view in mind: what sits on the right on a large screen often ends up lower down there.

Deutsche Fassung dieser Seite

FAQ

Can I still use colour for orientation on my website at all?

Yes, explicitly — colour may support, it just must never be the only signal. A green checkmark plus the word "passed" is perfect: sighted people grasp the colour quickly, everyone else reads the word. It only becomes a problem when the information is carried by colour alone.

What's an example of an accessible instruction?

Instead of "click the green button top right", write "click 'Request now'". The label text works for everyone: sighted people find the button by its appearance, blind visitors hear the name from the screen reader, and on a phone the instruction still holds even if the layout changes.

How does the audit service check this criterion?

Mostly by a human. Whether a phrase relies solely on colour, shape, or position requires understanding the language in context — a machine can't reliably decide that. The report therefore marks the criterion as a human check point; at the Gold Standard level, an auditor reads through the instructions and form texts.