Location
Users must be able to tell where they are within a set of pages — typically via breadcrumbs, a current-page indicator in the navigation, or a site map that highlights the active section.
What it asks
When a site is more than a handful of pages, users — especially those with cognitive disabilities or screen-reader users skimming — need a “you are here” signal. The page title gives them one cue; the SC asks for more: a breadcrumb trail showing the hierarchy, a current-page marker in the primary navigation, or a sitemap that highlights the active section.
This is AAA, so it’s aspirational for most teams, but it pays off on documentation sites, e-commerce catalogues, and any IA more than two levels deep.
How to meet it
- Add a breadcrumb above the main heading on every non-top-level page:
Home › Toolkit › Standards › WCAG 2.2. - Mark up the current-page link in the nav with
aria-current="page"and visually distinguish it (bold weight, accent colour, underline). - For long forms or multi-step processes, show a step indicator: “Step 2 of 5: Shipping.”
- Make the breadcrumb a
<nav aria-label="Breadcrumb">containing an ordered list, with the last item not a link. - For deep documentation sites, mirror the IA in a left-sidebar tree that expands to show the current page’s branch.
Common failures
- Breadcrumbs that show only the top-level section, not the full path.
- Current-page links in the navigation that look identical to inactive links —
aria-currentset but no visual indicator. - Step indicators on multi-step forms that show only “Step 2” with no total, so users can’t tell how much remains.
- Breadcrumbs that link the current page back to itself (low-impact, but minor confusion).
- “Home” link only, no other location cues, on a 5-level-deep documentation tree.
Why it matters
Cognitive load is the silent accessibility tax. Users with ADHD, dyslexia, working-memory differences, or anyone navigating in a second language depend on persistent location cues to maintain context. Without them, every link click is a leap of faith. Breadcrumbs and aria-current cost almost nothing to add and lift the experience for everyone — which is why many teams adopt 2.4.8 even though they only commit to AA.