Give visitors a clear route to the page's main information

What to change

Ask your supplier to identify the main page content clearly for assistive navigation, keeping repeated menus and footer links available as separate areas.

A worked example

Illustrative example

A visitor choosing Main reaches the service's heading and information, while the global menu and footer remain separately navigable areas.

Healthcare website design showing connected desktop and mobile service and enquiry layouts. — Make the service and next step clear on every screen.

Healthcare website accessibility illustrated by a focus outline, keyboard key, contrast samples and form. — Review keyboard access, contrast and understandable form fields.

Why this matters to your practice

A visitor arriving on a service page should be able to reach its actual information without exploring every menu and footer first. Screen-reading software offers shortcuts to named page areas, including the main content. Ask your supplier to demonstrate that route on the homepage and an ordinary service page. Listen for a clear starting point containing the page heading. More labelled areas are not automatically better; the useful question is whether the important destinations are easy to distinguish.

How to check the result

Accept when region navigation provides a stable route into the current page's principal content across supported templates and interface states.

A mistake to avoid

Adding region labels to every small component can make the navigation list longer without making the important destinations easier to identify.

Turn reading into a next step

Your action checklist

Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.

Checks to discussAsk your supplier to demonstrate this check with you: use a screen reader's region list on the homepage and a service page. Determine whether the main content destination is obvious and singular for each page.Navigate directly to that region. Check where reading begins and whether it includes the page's own heading rather than starting halfway through a card.Open an overlay or embedded application and repeat. Ask the supplier to explain how temporary interface states affect the available regions.

Your answers and notes

Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.

What happens next, and who will do it?

Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.

Related guides

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