Web Accessibility Checker : Check Details

Element

blockquote

Error Type

Potential

Guidelines

BITV 1.0 (Level 2)
Level 1
3.7 Mark up quotations. Do not use quotation markup for formatting effects such as indentation.
WCAG 1.0 (Level AA)
Priority 2
3.7 Mark up quotations. Do not use quotation markup for formatting effects such as indentation.
WCAG 1.0 (Level AAA)
Priority 2
3.7 Mark up quotations. Do not use quotation markup for formatting effects such as indentation.
WCAG 2.0 (Level AA)
3.2 Predictable: Make Web pages appear and operate in predictable ways.
Success Criteria 3.2.4 Consistent Identification (AA)
WCAG 2.0 (Level AAA)
3.2 Predictable: Make Web pages appear and operate in predictable ways.
Success Criteria 3.2.4 Consistent Identification (AA)

Requirement

blockquote must not be used for indentation.

Error

blockquote may be used for indentation.

Short Description

This error is generated if any blockquote element is missing a cite attribute.

Rationale

Only use blockquote to indicate a quotation. Do not use it to create an indented effect on the page. blockquote is a semantic element and using it improperly can confuse the user.

How To Determine

Question	Is the text enclosed by `blockquote` actually a quotation?
PASS	Text enclosed by `blockquote` is a quotation.
FAIL	Text enclosed by `blockquote` is not a quotation.

Steps To Check

Procedure

1. Check each blockquote element in the content.
2. Check if the text enclosed by the blockquote element is really a quote.

Expected Result

1. All text contained by the blockquote element is a quote.
2. The blockquote element should not be used to simply indent text.

Failed Result

1. Remove the blockquote element and replace it with other formatting elements or CSS.

Examples

Pass Examples

blockquote has cite attribute.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN""http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>OAC Testfile - Check #100 - Negative</title>
</head>
<body>
<blockquote cite="Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Hansard">If I have any sins to confess, I will tell them to my priest.</blockquote>.
</body>
</html>

Fail Examples

blockquote does not have cite attribute.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN""http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>OAC Testfile - Check #100 - Positive</title>
</head>
<body>
<blockquote>If I have any sins to confess, I will tell them to my priest.</blockquote>.
</body>
</html>