Identifiable abbreviations
Readers should be able to find out what the abbreviations and acronyms on a page stand for. This check asks you to review each page for unexplained abbreviations, because judging whether an abbreviation needs explaining is not something an automated test can do reliably.
Why this matters
Abbreviations assume knowledge your readers may not have. People new to your subject, people reading in a second language, and people with cognitive or memory difficulties can all lose the thread of a page over a single unexplained "FOI" or "EBITDA". add another problem: an unfamiliar abbreviation may be spelt out letter by letter or mispronounced as a word, making it even harder to follow.
This is success criterion 3.1.4 (Abbreviations), a requirement.
How to fix it
This is a manual review. On each page:
- Read through the content and note any abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms a typical visitor might not know.
- Confirm each one is explained in at least one way:
- The expanded form appears alongside the first use, such as "Freedom of Information (FOI)".
- The abbreviation uses the
<abbr>element with atitleattribute giving the expansion. - The page links to a glossary or definition.
- Add an expansion,
<abbr>element, or glossary link for any that lack one. - When the page checks out, the finding.
<!-- Explained in text (most robust) -->
<p>Freedom of Information (FOI) requests...</p>
<!-- Or marked up with the abbr element -->
<p><abbr title="Freedom of Information">FOI</abbr> requests...</p>
How Silktide tests this
- Raise one review prompt per page. Whether an abbreviation needs explanation depends on your audience and context, which no automated test can judge, so Silktide prompts you to review rather than guessing.
- The prompt does not mean unexplained abbreviations were found - many pages have none, and for those the review takes moments.
Troubleshooting
Why does this appear on every page?
Because unexplained abbreviations cannot be detected automatically, the check errs on the side of asking. Approving a page records that you have reviewed it.