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

Accessibility

How does a website protect customers from costly input errors?

A website protects customers from costly input errors by offering at least one of three safeguards before the binding step: the customer can review and correct their details on a summary, they must explicitly confirm the entries, or they can undo the process afterwards. WCAG criterion 3.3.4 requires one of these safeguards wherever orders, contracts, or customer data are at stake.

Review, confirm, or undo

A transposed digit in an account number, an order submitted twice, a customer account deleted by accident — such mistakes happen to anyone, but noticeably more often to people with motor impairments, tremors, or concentration difficulties. The criterion applies to three kinds of processes: legal commitments such as signing contracts, financial processes such as orders and transfer details, and changing or deleting stored customer data. Everyone knows the most common implementation from online shopping: the order summary before the buy button, on which address, items, and payment method are summarised once more and every detail can be corrected. A confirmation prompt before deletion also counts — or a way to undo it afterwards.

How the audit service checks error prevention

Whether an order process offers a genuine way to review is barely something a machine can establish — the measurement would have to go through a complete purchase, and that's simply not something a live website should allow. An automated check that triggers test orders or deletes customer data wouldn't be a check, it would be damage. Our report therefore openly marks criterion 3.3.4 as a manual check point. At the Gold Standard level, a human goes through your critical flows right up to the binding step and judges: is there a summary to review, an explicit confirmation, or a documented way to undo the process.

Examples

Order without control

Not met

<form action="/bestellen">
  … Adresse, Zahlung …
  <button>Kaufen</button>
</form>

Passes

<form action="/bestellen/pruefen">
  … Adresse, Zahlung …
  <button>Weiter zur Übersicht</button>
</form>
<!-- Übersichtsseite: alle Angaben mit „Ändern“, dann „Zahlungspflichtig bestellen“ -->

For money, contracts and data: check, have confirmed or made revocable, one of them at least.

Go through your order or inquiry flow right up to just before the final step and check whether a correctable summary appears.
Put a confirmation prompt that names the process before every deletion of customer data.
On the summary page, make every detail directly editable, with its own edit link per section.
After the final step, describe the way to withdraw visibly in the confirmation, so errors can still be fixed afterwards.

Deutsche Fassung dieser Seite

FAQ

What does WCAG 3.3.4 require for online orders?

At least one of three safeguards must precede the binding final step: a summary where all details can be reviewed and corrected, an explicit confirmation of the entries, or the ability to undo the process. The order summary before the buy button, common in online shopping, satisfies the criterion if every detail can be corrected from there.

Which processes does the error-prevention criterion apply to?

It applies to legally binding processes such as signing contracts, to financial processes such as orders and payment details, and to changing and deleting stored customer data. A simple contact form doesn't fall under it. But as soon as money, contracts, or data records are involved, the flow needs one of the three safeguards: review, confirm, or undo.

Why can a machine only check this criterion to a limited extent?

An automated check would have to go through the order process right up to the binding step — on a live website, that would mean triggering orders or altering data. That's simply not acceptable. Our report therefore marks the criterion as a manual check point; at the Gold Standard level, a human goes through the flows right up to the final step and assesses the safeguards.