2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide

Introduction

This document provides information about the related Acquia Web Governance accessibility check:

• Marquee element must not be used.

What

Do not use the HTML <marquee> element on web pages.

Why

Content that scrolls automatically can distract and overwhelm many users. It can make it difficult to focus on other parts of the page and can interfere with reading or understanding important information. Users with cognitive impairments can experience confusion or stress from the constant movement. Users of screen readers or keyboard navigation can experience interruptions in the reading or focus order, which makes it harder to interact with the page. People who use screen magnification software often access only a small portion of the screen at a time, and moving content can easily disappear before they have time to read or react to it. When users cannot pause or stop the movement, it removes their control and creates unnecessary barriers.

2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide

Introduction

This document provides information about the related Acquia Web Governance accessibility check:

• Marquee element must not be used.

What

Do not use the HTML <marquee> element on web pages.

Why

Content that scrolls automatically can distract and overwhelm many users. It can make it difficult to focus on other parts of the page and can interfere with reading or understanding important information. Users with cognitive impairments can experience confusion or stress from the constant movement. Users of screen readers or keyboard navigation can experience interruptions in the reading or focus order, which makes it harder to interact with the page. People who use screen magnification software often access only a small portion of the screen at a time, and moving content can easily disappear before they have time to read or react to it. When users cannot pause or stop the movement, it removes their control and creates unnecessary barriers.

Who

Affected users

This check affects the following users who have:

• Cognitive impairments: These users may find constant movement distracting or stressful, which makes it hard to focus or process content.

• Visual impairments: Users of screen magnification software may miss content that scrolls out of view before they can read it.

• Mobility impairments: These users often navigate with a keyboard and can experience disrupted focus order due to moving content.

• Blindness: Blind users of screen readers may find that the software cannot handle automatically scrolling content well, which leads to confusion or disorientation.

User story

Carlos Ríos is a 34-year-old man from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who works as a librarian at a local university. He sustained a brain injury in a car accident, which makes it difficult to understand instructions at times. Despite this, he has developed strategies to adapt and continues to perform his job with great dedication.

"One thing that really throws me off when I am researching online is when there is text that moves across the screen or keeps updating by itself. It is usually ads or breaking news tickers, and I just... I cannot focus. My brain starts chasing that movement instead of staying with the article I am trying to read. I get frustrated because I want to understand the content, but those constant changes pull my attention away. Honestly, it makes me want to give up on the site altogether. Why can’t they just let us turn that stuff off?"

Example

This section provides an example of the issue.

Example: Scrolling headline text that uses the <marquee> element

A news website displays a row of continuously scrolling headlines at the top of the homepage. The scrolling is created with the HTML <marquee> element, and there is no way for users to pause, stop, or control the movement.

<marquee behavior="scroll" direction="left">

  Breaking: Local elections results are in – Weather warnings updated – Major traffic incident on highway...

</marquee>

Users with low vision or who use screen magnification software are only able to view a small portion of the screen at a time. By the time they locate the scrolling text, the information has often already moved out of view. They must wait for the entire message to cycle through again, which can lead to frustration or missed information.

For users with cognitive impairments, the constant movement makes it hard to concentrate on other content on the page. The lack of user control over the scrolling behavior creates a distracting and inaccessible experience.

How

This section provides information on how to identify and fix this type of issue.

How to identify it

The Acquia Web Governance platform flags the use of the <marquee> element when it appears in the code.

How to fix it

The recommendation is to remove the obsolete <marquee> element entirely. If scrolling content is necessary, consider instead an accessible implementation of a carousel or similar component that gives users control, such as pause, stop, or hide options, for any automatically-scrolling content.

Who in your team can typically fix this?

• Front-end development.

Additional information

This section contains useful resources for this subject.

WCAG success criteria

2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide