WCAG 2.0 · Level AA · Understandable
3.2.3 Consistent Navigation
Manual verification
How to validate 3.2.3 by hand
Compare repeated navigation mechanisms across pages and check that their relative order remains consistent.
Start with the extension result
Reopen the reported URL and reproduce the same state (for example, after expanding a menu or submitting a form). Use the result’s Highlight action when available, or its affected-element details and CSS selector, to find the reported content. Apply the checks below to that content and its context. If the element or state has changed, rescan and record that difference before deciding whether the finding still applies.
- Choose several pages from the same site and compare the repeated navigation areas.
- Check the relative order of links and controls in each repeated block, including keyboard and screen-reader order.
- Repeat after responsive navigation changes and identify whether a difference is caused by a distinct page context.
Evidence to record
Record the pages compared and the navigation items whose relative order changes.
Scope and exceptions
This concerns repeated navigational mechanisms, not every group of links. The same links may be arranged differently when the user explicitly changes the order or context.
Record the review outcome
- Confirmed: the recorded evidence shows the requirement is not met in the tested page state, and no applicable exception explains it.
- Not reproduced: the reported issue is absent in the current state. Record the URL, state, and affected element you checked; this does not prove other pages or states conform.
- Needs more review: evidence is incomplete, the content requires human judgment, or an exception is uncertain. Record what remains to be checked instead of treating it as a pass.