WCAG 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation

Success criterion 3.2.3 helps people who find their way by memory and habit: screen reader users who listen to the menu in sequence, people using screen magnification who see only part of the page, and people with cognitive disabilities. If "Cart" is the third link on one page and the sixth on another, they have to search again every time. It is level AA and appears in EN 301 549 as clause 9.3.2.3.

What the criterion requires

Navigational mechanisms that are repeated on multiple web pages within a set of web pages must occur in the same relative order each time they are repeated, unless the user starts the change.

• A set of web pages is a collection that shares a common purpose and is created by the same author or organisation — typically one shop. Different language versions count as different sets.
• "Same relative order" allows items to be added or removed. A sub-menu that expands, or an extra link on some pages, is fine as long as the other items keep their order.
• The only exception is a change initiated by the user, for example a personalised menu order they chose.

Typical failures on an online shop

• the header on the home page uses a different template from category and product pages, with links in another order;
• checkout uses a simplified header where the remaining links are reordered;
• the account, search and cart icons swap places on blog or landing pages built with a page builder;
• the footer link order differs between shop pages and pages served by an app;
• the mobile menu order differs between pages at the same screen width.

How to check it

Automated: our checker has no rule for this criterion. It requires comparing navigation across pages, which is a manual check.

By hand: pick five or six page types — home, category, product, cart, checkout, blog, content page. On each, write down the order of the main menu, header icons, breadcrumbs and footer links, or read them with Tab. Compare the lists. Do it at desktop width and again at phone width, since each layout is compared with itself.

How to fix it

• Build the header and footer from one shared component or theme section rather than copying them into templates.
• When a page needs fewer items (as in checkout), remove items but do not reorder the rest.
• Keep header icons (search, account, cart) in one fixed sequence in the code, not only visually.
• Check page-builder landing pages against the main theme before publishing.

Related criteria

• 3.2.4 Consistent Identification — the same functions are named the same way.
• 3.2.6 Consistent Help — help links stay in the same order.
• 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks — a way to skip the repeated navigation.

Frequently asked questions

Does the menu have to look identical on every page?

No. Items that are repeated must keep the same relative order. You may add or remove items, for example expand a sub-menu on a category page, as long as the remaining items stay in the same order.

Do language versions of a site count as one set of pages?

No. WCAG treats different language versions as different sets of web pages, so the English and German menus are compared separately.

Can an automated checker test consistent navigation?

Not reliably. It needs a comparison of the navigation across many pages, so it is checked by hand.