Technique G63:Providing a site map

Applicability

All technologies.

This technique relates to:

Description

This is one of a series of techniques for locating content that are sufficient for addressing Success Criterion 2.4.5. A site map is a Web page that provides links to different sections of the site. To make the site map available within the site, at a minimum every page that is listed in the site map contains a link to the site map.

The site map serves several purposes.

  • It provides an overview of the entire site.
  • It helps users understand what the site contains and how the content is organized.
  • It offers an alternative to complex navigation bars that may be different at different parts of the site.

There are different types of site maps. The simplest and most common kind of site map is an outline that shows links to each section or sub-site. Such outline views do not show more complex relationships within the site, such as links between pages in different sections of the site. The site maps for some large sites use headings that expand to show additional detail about each section.

A site map describes the contents and organization of a site. It is important that site maps be updated whenever the site is updated. For example, a Web page is not a valid site map when any one of the following is true:

  1. it does not link to all the sections of a site, or
  2. it presents an organization that is different from the site's organization, or
  3. it contains links that are no longer valid.

Examples

Example 1

The Web Accessibility Initiative provides a WAI site map that lists different sections of its Web site. The site map shows the different sections of the Web site, and shows some of the substructure within those sections.

Example 2

The site map for an on-line magazine lists all the sections of the magazine and the subsections in each section. It also include links for Help, How to Contact Us, Privacy Policy, Employment Opportunities, How to Subscribe, and the home page for the magazine.

Other sources

No endorsement implied.

Tests

Procedure

  1. Check that the site contains a site map.
  2. Check that the links in the site map lead to the corresponding sections of the site.
  3. For each link in the site map, check that the target page contains a link to the site map.
  4. For each page in the site, check that the page can be reached by following some set of links that start at the site map.

Expected Results

  • All of the checks above are true.