What Is Consistent Help (WCAG 3.2.6)?

Summary (Answer-First)

Consistent Help (WCAG 3.2.6) requires that help and support options—such as contact links, chat widgets, or help resources—appear in the same location and order across pages, making them easy to find and use.

Overview

The aim is that people can easily learn where to find help and support when they need it.

As an example, if you have any help options or support resources on your site, be those contact details, chat widgets, help center articles, anything of the sort, and if the user can find them on more than one page, then this criterion applies.

Let us say, the website has a chat widget, and it is floating at the bottom of the page content, as they usually do. It must remain in the same location visually but also in the order when tabbing with a keyboard, on all applicable pages. This makes the location of help predictable for the website users.

You can use the Siteimprove Policy product to make sure that any Help link or contact details exist in the footer on all pages, for instance.

Why Consistent Help Matters

Consistent placement of help options ensures that users can quickly and reliably locate assistance without needing to relearn navigation patterns on each page.

Key Concept: Predictable Help Placement

Let us say, the website has a chat widget, and it is floating at the bottom of the page content, as they usually do. It must remain in the same location visually but also in the order when tabbing with a keyboard, on all applicable pages. This makes the location of help predictable for the website users.

Implementation Example

You can use the Siteimprove Policy product to make sure that any Help link or contact details exist in the footer on all pages, for instance.