1.5 Breadcrumb navigation could be improved (Low)
1.5.1 WCAG 1.3.1 (A), 4.1.2 (A) - Desktop
Throughout the site, breadcrumbs are used to let users know where they are on the website. This can be helpful for sighted users to understand their current position and the navigation structure of the site.
However, this information is not as evident for screen reader users. The pages are announced simply as a list of links and users are not informed which page they are currently on. They may not realise the purpose of the links as they are not told it is breadcrumb navigation and may assume that these links are part of the page navigation menu.
FIGURE 1.6: Breadcrumb navigation highlighted on with NVDA speech viewer activated
1.5.2 Code snippet
<div>
<ol>
<li>
<a href="...">Digital Prison Services</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="...">Manage learning and work progress</a>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
1.5.3 Recommendation
In its current implementation, it is not clear that these links represent a breadcrumb navigation via screen readers. Despite the current implementation adhering to GDS recommendations, we still suggest refactoring the links to be within a navigation element as opposed to a <div>. Label this <nav> element as a breadcrumb using aria-label="Breadcrumb" so that screen reader users are informed of its purpose. In addition, add aria-current="page" to the current page in the breadcrumb so that screen reader users are aware that the link will take them to the same page.
We would also recommend contacting GDS about this to understand if this has been raised elsewhere and to understand their take on this issue.