WCAG 3.3.6: Error Prevention (All)

In our post on WCAG 3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data), we discussed why it’s important to give users a chance to confirm and correct sensitive data or information they may have entered into an online form, specifically relating to financial and legal matters. It’s easy for anyone to make mistakes inputting data online, but it’s especially true for users with certain disabilities, such as those with certain reading disabilities who may have a tendency to mix up letters and numbers or people experiencing motor limitations who are more prone to hitting incorrect keys.

This rule goes one step further and asks that users be given a chance to review entered information in more than just the most sensitive cases. For any page that requires users to input information, one of the following should be true:

• Reversible. Any data submitted or transactions made by the user are reversible.
• Checked. Information entered by the user is checked for errors, and the user is in turn given an opportunity to make corrections.
• Confirmed. A mechanism is provided that lets users review, confirm, and correct information before they finalize their submission or transaction.

Level AAA

If you’ve been following this blog series of ours on accessibility, you’ve likely seen mention of WCAG’s different levels of conformance. In short, they are Levels A, AA, and AAA, each of which successively describing a higher standard of accessibility.

This criterion has been designated Level AAA because it expands upon WCAG 3.3.4 so that user input data is checkable in all situations.