<blink> elements are deprecated and must not be used
Accessibility testing for dev teams - No experience required
Compliance Data & Impact
Disabilities Affected
- Low Vision
- Mobility
- Cognitive
Standard(s)
- WCAG 2.1 (A)
- WCAG 2.0 (A)
- Section 508
WCAG Success Criteria [WCAG 2.1 (A)]
- 2.2.2: MUST: Pause, Stop, Hide
WCAG Success Criteria [WCAG 2.0 (A)]
- 2.2.2: MUST: Pause, Stop, Hide
Section 508 Guidelines
- 1194.22: MUST: Web based intranet and Internet Information & Applications
- 1194.22 (j): MUST: Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.
How to Fix the Problem
Remove all blink elements.
An example of a code snippet you should remove from an HTML file:
<p><blink>Moving Sale Thursday!</blink></p>An example of a code snippet you should remove from a CSS file:
h1 {
text-decoration: blink;
}Note:
A number of modern browsers do not support blinking text. It is entirely
possible that you will have the blink element in an HTML file,
but this won’t produce blinking text on the web page. For this reason, don’t
rely on the visual rendering of an HTML document to determine whether there
are blink tags in it; be sure to check the actual file
contents.
To fix both of the above code examples, remove the blink element
and/or text-decoration: blink; from your CSS. Replace this markup
to make the text stand out in some other way.
Why it Matters
As the name suggests, blink tags cause content to flash. Though
you may like the effect, blinking text can be difficult to read, and blinking
objects (links, buttons, etc.) can be difficult to activate, especially for
users with imprecise or limited dexterity.
It can be very difficult for people with visual and cognitive disabilities to
see and understand text that blinks. Blinking text be distracting, especially
for users with cognitive disabilities. It can also be difficult for some
individuals to comprehend. For these reasons, the blink element
should never be used.
Rule Description
This rule requires that no blink elements are present. Flashing
text can be difficult to read and blinking objects can be difficult to
activate. The associated automated check finds the presence of all
blink elements so that they can be removed.
The Algorithm (in simple terms)
Checks to make sure that the blink element is never used.
Resources
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