Bypass Blocks

About

Version:	WCAG 2.0 and up
Number:	2.4.1
Level:	A
Applicability:	Sections
Requirement:	A mechanism is available to bypass blocks of content that are repeated on multiple Web pages.
Guidance:	Understanding Success Criterion 2.4.1 How to meet Success Criterion 2.4.1
Techniques:	ARIA11: Using ARIA landmarks to identify regions of a page G1: Adding a link at the top of each page that goes directly to the main content area G123: Adding a link at the beginning of a block of repeated content to go to the end of the block G124: Adding links at the top of the page to each area of the content H69: Providing heading elements at the beginning of each section of content H70: Using frame elements to group blocks of repeated material H64: Using the title attribute of the frame and iframe elements SCR28: Using an expandable and collapsible menu to bypass block of content

Purpose

The purpose of this success criterion is to ensure that readers can easily skip past repetitive content at the beginning of a document to locate themselves at the primary text.

How to Meet

This success criterion is very specific to web sites, which use a common template for each page. Without a bypass mechanism, readers who cannot see the layout of the pages would have to navigate manually past the site header, any navigation and search areas, etc. to reach the content. This process can be time consuming and reduce reading comprehension on the web.

As digital publications are not composed of similar web site trappings, this success criterion is almost never likely to apply. The only case might be a publication created by scraping together web pages directly off the web.

Additional Information

The knowledge base does not currently include information on bypass blocks due to the lack of implementation in publishing formats. Refer to the WCAG guidance documents for additional information.