Protocol

Make non-essential interaction motion optional

A transition should not make someone pay a physical price for pressing a button.

When it fits

Navigation or feedback triggers sliding, zooming or other substantial motion.

When to avoid it

Some animation is essential to explaining movement. Provide appropriate alternatives and avoid claiming that one setting makes all content symptom-free.

Why it matters

Offer a way to suppress non-essential motion triggered by interaction, while preserving the information and action. WCAG addresses this in a Level AAA criterion; do not relabel it as a blanket AA rule or a ban on every animation.

Steps

Identify which motion communicates essential information and which is decoration.
Provide a reduced-motion path or honor a relevant user preference in the implementation.
Test that state changes remain clear when movement is removed.

An example

A completed exercise changes status immediately in reduced-motion mode instead of sending the card spinning across the screen.

Check your result

Can the same task be understood and completed with non-essential motion disabled?

Keep this limit in mind

Some animation is essential to explaining movement. Provide appropriate alternatives and avoid claiming that one setting makes all content symptom-free.

Connected ideas

Evidence and sources

Supports

WCAG 2.3.3 at Level AAA requires interaction-triggered motion animation to be disableable unless essential to the functionality or information.

The criterion is not a universal ban on animation or a standalone certification of vestibular safety.

Understanding Success Criterion 2.3.3: Animation from Interactions · Success criterion and level.

All sources (1)

Understanding Success Criterion 2.3.3: Animation from Interactions