Operable · Level AA · 2.4.5
Multiple Ways
There has to be more than one way to find a given page on a site — search plus a site map, or a table of contents plus links from the homepage — because no single navigation method suits everyone.
- Low vision
- Cognitive
How to recognize it
Check whether a page can only be reached one specific way — say, by clicking through a single fixed hierarchy of category pages with no search box and no site map anywhere. Someone using a screen magnifier who finds it exhausting to scroll and scan through long hierarchical menus might rely entirely on search instead; someone with a cognitive disability might rely on a table of contents or site map to build a mental overview before diving in, rather than clicking blind through categories one at a time. A site that offers only one of these paths forces every visitor into whichever method happens to suit them least. The exception: a single page that's the direct result of a process — a payment confirmation, a search results page itself — doesn't need multiple ways to reach it, since it's only ever meant to be reached by completing that specific process.
How to fix it
Offer at least two of: a search feature, a site map, a table of contents, a list of links to other pages, or a clear set of links from the homepage that eventually reaches everything. Most sites already have most of the pieces — main navigation plus a search box is often enough — the failure case is usually a large content site that has only ever built one of these and never added a second.
Example
Avoid
<!-- entire site only reachable via a single nested category menu, no search, no site map -->Prefer
<nav><!-- category navigation --></nav>
<form role="search"><input type="search" aria-label="Search site"></form>
<a href="/sitemap">Site map</a>