Provide context and orientation information

These checkpoints mainly deal with frames and forms and how you make sure that people understand how they interact.

The checkpoints are:

• Title each frame to facilitate frame identification and navigation [Priority 1]
• Describe the purpose of frames and how frames relate to each other [Priority 2]
• Divide large blocks of information into more manageable groups [Priority 2]
• Associate labels explicitly with their controls [Priority 2]

Why the checkpoints are important

Complex relationships between parts of a page may be difficult for people with cognitive disabilities or visual disabilities to interpret.

Try to avoid frames if possible as, if not used properly, they can present problems with navigation, printing and bookmarking, and can also be difficult to understand when accessed using screen readers. For example, when a screen reader opens a page with frames, it may just display a list of the frames that make up the page. If the frames don't have titles, the list has no meaning. The lack of useful information about the contents of the frame forces the user to open each frame, one by one, review their contents and work out how it relates to the other frames on the page. This is frustrating and time consuming.

People are generally uncomfortable with reading large amounts of text on screen and tend to skim through content by scanning headings, subheadings, lists, etc. This is easier to do if you break the content down in to small chunks. This helps everyone, including users who are in a hurry and need to find information quickly, such as call centre staff, users with reading difficulties, non-native speakers and users of screen readers.

More complex elements, such as forms, are easier to understand and navigate if you break them down into logical sections. For example, an online form might be broken up into logical sections such as personal information, employment details, and so on. This provides screen readers with important contextual information which helps them to navigate through forms.

It is good practice to position labels so the visual relationship with corresponding form controls is clear. However, if the relationship between labels and form controls is not explicitly defined in the underlying HTML, older browsers or assistive technologies may fail to accurately present the form.