Skip to content

Finding content on websites

Websites should include navigation that is consistent and predictable from page to page, and should include multiple means for finding content.

For an overview of this issue, see Finding content in our IT Accessibility Checklist.

Consistent navigation

Use menus and other navigational mechanisms consistently across all web pages within a website. Be sure menus appear in approximately the same place on each page, with items repeated in the same relative order across pages.

In addition, any links, buttons, images, or other components that are used repeatedly throughout a website should be labeled consistently. For example, if a web application includes a “Sign In” link on some pages, and a “Log In” link on other pages, this can lead to confusion as screen reader users familiar with the “Sign In” link might try a search for that on pages where it’s labeled differently and would come up empty-handed.

For techniques related to navigation within a web page, see Navigation in the IT Accessibility Checklist.

Multiple means of finding content

Provide multiple means of finding content on your website, for example:

  • Provide a navigation menu
  • Provide a search feature
  • Provide a site map

The standard UW WordPress Theme has been created with accessibility in mind, and satisfies the needs described on this page, as does the Drupal theme that’s available on the Community Themes and Modules wiki. For additional information, see the Using UW-branded Themes section of our Websites home page.