Perceivable / 1.3 Adaptable

1.3.3Sensory Characteristics

Level A

Don't describe how to operate something using sensory characteristics alone -- shape, color, position, or sound -- like "the green button in the top right." Users with color vision deficiencies or visual impairments may not perceive those cues at all. Using color or shape is fine as long as a text label or other identifying cue is given alongside it.

Note

A detailed commentary for this success criterion is not yet available. In the meantime, this page lists related patterns, techniques, and links to the normative sources.

Related Techniques

Specific implementation techniques for meeting this success criterion. This site doesn't include the full text, so follow the links to the original W3C documents.

Sufficient Techniques(1)

G96: Providing textual identification of items that otherwise rely only on sensory information to be understood(opens in a new tab)waic.jp(opens in a new tab)

Failures(2)

Normative References

Success Criterion 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics — WCAG 2.2(opens in a new tab)The normative requirement text.
Understanding Sensory Characteristics — W3C(opens in a new tab)Official guidance on intent, examples, and techniques.