Provide an option to ensure that users can access the expanded form of abbreviations
Table of Contents
Official Requirements
Success Criterion 3.1.4 Abbreviations (Level AAA): A mechanism for identifying the expanded form or meaning of abbreviations is available.
Why is it required?
Using abbreviations may confuse readers sometimes, especially when they don’t look like normal words nor follow the usual rules of the language. For example, the word roaming is abbreviated as ‘rmg’ which does not correspond to any English word or phoneme. Furthermore, abbreviations can mean two different things in different contexts. This becomes difficult for users with cognitive disabilities to understand the content. Hence, there should be a mechanism to identify the expanded form or meaning of abbreviations.
How do we fix it?
- Provide explanations or expansions of the abbreviations right before or after their first occurrence
- Provide a link to the glossary that explains the abbreviations and remember to include any other definitions or expansions if required, according to the context
- Provide a way to search the abbreviation online
