WCAG 2.1 SC 3.3.5: Help (Level AAA)
3.3.5 Help (Level AAA) — what it requires, a common failure example, and how to fix it. Part of WCAG 2.1's 3.3 Input Assistance guideline under the Understandable principle.
WCAG 2.1 guidelines hub → Understandable → 3.3 Input Assistance
3.3.5 Help (Level AAA)
Input Assistance is the guideline most directly relevant to checkout and account forms — it governs whether people can tell what a field wants, whether errors are described clearly, and whether a costly mistake (an accidental purchase, a wrong shipping address) can be caught before it’s final.
This page is educational technical reference material, not legal advice. Meeting WCAG 2.1 does not by itself determine legal compliance with the ADA or any other law — consult qualified counsel for legal risk questions.
Plain-language explanation: Context-sensitive help — instructions relevant to the specific field or task a user is on — should be available, not just a generic help page disconnected from where the user actually is.
Common failure: A “Help” link in the site footer goes to a general FAQ with no way to jump directly to guidance about the specific field (e.g. “what counts as a valid tax ID”) the user is currently stuck on.
Remediation: Add inline contextual help (a “?” tooltip or expandable note next to the specific field) rather than relying solely on a disconnected help page.
In this guideline — 3.3 Input Assistance: 3.3.1 Error Identification (A) · 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (A) · 3.3.3 Error Suggestion (AA) · 3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data) (AA) · 3.3.5 Help (AAA) · 3.3.6 Error Prevention (All) (AAA)
← Previous: 3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data) (AA) · Next: 3.3.6 Error Prevention (All) (AAA) →
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This page is educational content about technical accessibility practice, not legal advice. Meeting WCAG 2.1 does not guarantee legal compliance with the ADA or any other law. Consult qualified counsel for legal risk questions.
This page was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by a person for accuracy before publication.