In plain English
When a shopper gets stuck, they look for help, and they look in the place they saw it last. This rule, new in WCAG 2.2, is refreshingly simple: if you offer a way to get help (a contact link, phone number, live chat, help center), keep it in the same spot on every page that has it. Do not move it from the header on one page to the footer on another.
It does not require you to add help. It just says: be consistent with the help you already provide.
Who this is for
- People with cognitive or memory differences, who rely on things being where they expect.
- Anyone in a hurry or frustrated, who should not have to hunt for support.
How to check and fix it yourself
Pick your help option (say, a “Need help?” link or chat bubble). Visit your home, product, cart, and checkout pages and confirm it appears in the same relative place each time. The easiest fix is to put it in a shared component (header or footer) so it is identical everywhere by default.
Header contact link on home page → same header spot on product page ✓
Chat bubble bottom-right on cart → same bottom-right on checkout ✓Where we can help
This one is quick to fix once you know, but easy to break as a store grows and pages get built by different people or apps. In an audit we check help placement across your key templates and flag any inconsistencies. It is one of the new WCAG 2.2 criteria.