Sensory Characteristics
Instructions must not rely solely on shape, size, location, orientation, sound, or color. "Click the green button on the right" excludes users who can't see the layout or distinguish color.
What it asks
Instructions that tell users how to interact with content must work for someone who can’t perceive the sensory cue you’re pointing at. If you say “click the round button” a screen-reader user has no idea which button is round. If you say “the menu on your left” a user who has reflowed the page to a single column doesn’t have a left. Pair every sensory cue with a non-sensory identifier — a label, a name, a number.
How to meet it
- Replace “click the green button” with “click the Submit button” — name the control.
- Replace “see the box on the right” with “see the Pricing section below” — name the section by its heading.
- For diagram references, name the labelled part rather than its position: “see step 3” not “see the top circle.”
- For audio cues (“you’ll hear a beep when complete”), pair with a visible status message.
- For shape references on icons (“the gear icon”), make sure the icon also has an accessible name in the markup.
Common failures
- “Press the round green button to continue” — three sensory cues, no name.
- Form help text that says “see the panel on the right” on a desktop layout that becomes a single column on mobile.
- “Listen for the chime” with no visual alternative.
- Tutorial copy that points at a “blue link in the sidebar” — color, location, no name.
- Onboarding tour: “the tooltip with the arrow” — relies entirely on shape.
Why it matters
This one rarely fails automated tools (Lighthouse can’t read prose), so it gets caught only in manual review. The fix is almost always a copy edit, not a code change — easy to ship but easy to miss.