This translation has not been editorially reviewed yet. The German version is authoritative. Deutsche Fassung →
Accessibility
Why should customers only have to enter their details once?
Customers should only have to enter their details once, because every repetition is an avoidable hurdle. Once someone has entered their delivery address, the website must not ask for it again within the same process — it offers the information for reuse instead, for example with the familiar checkbox "Billing address same as delivery address". Criterion 3.3.7, newly introduced with WCAG 2.2, calls this avoiding redundant entry.
Duplicate requests cost customers and conversions
For people with memory or concentration difficulties, being asked for the same information a second time is a real barrier: they have to gather the information again and type it in without errors — and the error rate rises each time. For people with motor impairments, every repetition means a multiple of strenuous input steps. And even average customers abandon order processes that ask for data they already supplied two steps earlier. The criterion requires one of three solutions: the information is carried over automatically, it's offered as a selectable option, or a checkbox carries it over on request. Exceptions apply where repetition is necessary — such as password confirmation for security — or where the earlier entry may no longer be retained for security reasons.
How the audit service checks for redundant entry
Whether a website asks for the same information twice only becomes apparent when going through a multi-step process — cart, address, payment, confirmation. Running through such a process with realistic data can't be done safely by a machine on a live website without actually triggering orders or inquiries. Our report therefore lists criterion 3.3.7 visibly and marks it as a manual check point. At the Gold Standard level, a human goes through your multi-step flows — without triggering the binding final step — and judges: is information already provided asked for again, and is it carried over automatically, offered as a selection, or via a checkbox.
- Go through your order or sign-up flow and note down every piece of information requested more than once.
- For delivery and billing address, offer a checkbox that carries over the address already entered.
- Carry information from earlier steps over automatically into later summaries and forms.
- Keep security-related repetitions such as password confirmation — they are explicitly exempt from the criterion.
FAQ
What does redundant entry mean under WCAG 2.2?
Redundant entry means a website asks, within the same process, for information the visitor has already provided — for example the address at the order step and again at payment. Criterion 3.3.7 instead requires that it be carried over: entered automatically, offered as a selection, or transferable via a checkbox. It's a new addition with WCAG 2.2.
Is password confirmation during registration allowed?
Password confirmation remains permitted. The criterion exempts repetitions that are necessary — this includes confirming a new password, which is meant to catch typos, as well as cases where the earlier entry may not be stored at all for security reasons. Unnecessary duplicate requests for address, name, or customer number within the same process, on the other hand, remain a violation.
How do you check for redundant entry on your own website?
Go through your multi-step flows yourself — order, registration, inquiry — and note down every piece of information you type in. If the same request appears a second time, with no way to carry it over, you've found the violation. Our report marks the criterion as a manual check point; at the Gold Standard level, an auditor takes on this pass for you.