Avoid redirecting pages by markup |
WAI / WCAG 1.0 Priority 2 checkpoint 7.5
Issue Description When this page is loaded by the browser, after a given amount of time a new page is automatically loaded and displayed. It is best to remove this behavior.
How to fix Until browsers will allow users to turn off these automatically updating features, do not use auto-refresh or auto-redirect. If auto redirect is needed, then implement it using the redirection capabilities offered by the server and by allowing the user to specify when to load the next page. This would not affect accessibility of the pages because the page would change only as an effect of the user explicitly (re)loading the page.

If this is not possible, and the redirect META tag is still required, then it is best to enrich the two pages with links that connect them, in both directions. In this way, if the redirect is too fast, the visitor at least has the ability to go back to the previous page. If the redirect is too slow, the visitor has the ability to move forward at will.

Please notice that this solution, although more usable than the META redirect alone, does not satisfy the current guideline/checkpoint.

Issue Explanation Pages that are automatically updated may pose significant problems to users who are disabled or use technology that hinders normal interaction patterns. People with disabilities might not be able to move quickly or accurately through the page content and navigation items before it changes. Users without disabilities may also face problems if, for various reasons, they are slow in reading the page; for example, if they use a very slow Internet connection, or if they use a small screen that forces them to slow down the reading pace.

Until browsers will allow users to turn off these automatically updating features, do not use auto-refresh.