2.4.8 Location

1. What is the goal of this criterion?

Do you know that feeling when a link takes you deep into a website and you’re suddenly completely disoriented? Where am I? How do I get back? For people with a short attention span or cognitive disabilities, this disorientation can be a real problem – and quickly make them give up.

The goal of Success Criterion 2.4.8 is therefore clear: users should be able to tell where they are within a website or web application. It’s about orientation and context – like a digital compass that shows where you are and where you can go.

2. What exactly does it require?

Level AAA criterion 2.4.8 requires that information about the user’s current location within a related set of pages is available.

Proven ways to provide it include:

• Breadcrumbs: They show the path from the home page to the current page.
• Site map: An overview of the entire structure of the website.
• Highlighting in the navigation: The current section and page are highlighted in the menu.
• Meaningful page titles: They show how a page fits into the larger collection.
• Links to parent sections: for example “Back to product category”.

A simple example: a university research group links from its page both to its parent department and to the university’s home page. That makes its place in the structure immediately clear.

3. Why does it matter for accessibility?

Imagine following a link to an article about sustainability and landing on a subpage without knowing whether it’s a company blog, a university portal or a non-profit’s website. Without context, the content is hard to judge.

Orientation aids improve accessibility because they:

• help people with attention disorders or a short concentration span keep track,
• support people with memory impairments in retracing their path through complex websites,
• give people with cognitive disabilities a clear mental framework,
• quickly provide context for screen reader users, who can’t take in the page at a glance,
• let everyone find related content and move around purposefully.

And: good orientation makes websites more user-friendly for everyone – including anyone in a hurry who needs to find their way quickly.

4. How to meet the criterion

The good news: orientation aids are usually easy to implement. Here are some proven tips:

Add breadcrumbs:

• Show the full path: “Home › Products › Laptops › Gaming laptops”.
• Link every step except the current page.
• Place breadcrumbs where they’re easy to see, usually above the main content.
• Mark them up as a list in their own navigation region, for example <nav aria-label="Breadcrumb"> with an <ol>, and add separators with CSS rather than as text.

Make the structure visible in the navigation:

• Visibly highlight the current menu item – not just with colour.
• Show the category structure in submenus too.
• Use consistent names across all pages.

Provide links to the context:

• “Back to [parent section]” links
• “All articles in this category” overviews
• Links to related pages on the same level

Technical implementation:

• Mark the current page in the navigation and breadcrumbs with aria-current="page" so screen readers announce it too.
• Use meaningful page titles that reflect the hierarchy (see Page Titled).
• Choose a logical URL structure that mirrors the structure of the website.

What to avoid:

• Breadcrumbs that only reflect the browser history instead of the real page structure
• Overly deep nesting without recognisable intermediate levels
• Unclear or inconsistent category names

Related criteria are Multiple Ways and Consistent Navigation.

5. Why this criterion matters for businesses

Success Criterion 2.4.8 shows once again that accessibility isn’t an end in itself – it brings tangible benefits.

1. A wider audience: Clear orientation makes your website more accessible for everyone – especially older people, people with cognitive disabilities and anyone short on time. People who know where they are are less likely to give up.

2. Search engines understand the structure too: Accessibility isn’t a direct ranking factor. But breadcrumbs and a clear page structure also help search engines understand your website – and Google can show breadcrumbs in search results if you also mark them up as structured data. That’s an indirect benefit.

3. More trust, more exploration: People who can find their way are more likely to explore further pages and feel more confident – a good basis for enquiries and purchases.

And finally: AAA criteria like 2.4.8 are not mandatory under the European Accessibility Act (EAA) or its German implementation, the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG), since the harmonised standard EN 301 549 references WCAG 2.1 Level AA. But since breadcrumbs and highlighted menu items are part of good craftsmanship anyway, implementing them is almost always worth it. This is general information, not legal advice.

6. The success criterion in the W3C’s words

Success Criterion 2.4.8 Location (Level AAA)

Information about the user’s location within a set of web pages is available.

In short: users must be able to find out where they are within a related set of pages.