Perceivable

1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics

Level AWCAG 2.2Manual testing only

Instructions cannot rely only on shape, color, size, position or sound, as in "click the round button on the right".

Who it helps

Blind and low-vision people, and people who use a different layout such as a phone view.

Failures we see most

  • "Press the green button to continue"
  • "See the sidebar on the left" on a page that stacks into one column on phones

How it gets tested

No automated tool can judge 1.3.3 reliably, so a specialist tests it by hand, with a keyboard and a screen reader where that applies.

How we fix it

A specialist fixes this in your site's code or content, and we re-test the page before you sign off.

Official text: W3C, Understanding 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics. Checks listed from axe-core 4.14.0.

Related criteria

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