Pagination helps visitors move through a large collection one page at a time. Provide working adjacent links and identify the current page clearly.
What You Need to Know
The active page usually gets aria-current="page". At the first and last page, omit unavailable directions rather than leaving broken links.
The goal is not to collect as many tags as possible. Pick the element that best describes what the content really is.
Example: See It in Action
Add this example to the appropriate part of a practice HTML page. Read each line before you open the page in your browser.
This is a short HTML fragment. To try it as a webpage, put it inside the body element of a complete HTML document.
<nav aria-label="Article pagination">
<a href="page-1.html">Previous</a>
<a href="page-2.html" aria-current="page">2</a>
<a href="page-3.html">Next</a>
</nav>Let’s Understand the Example
- Nav identifies a major collection of navigation links.
- An a element becomes a working link when it has an href. Its visible text should tell readers where they will go.
- Aria-label supplies an accessible name when a visible label is unavailable or inadequate.
- Href contains the destination of a link. A value starting with # points to an id on the same page.
- Aria-current identifies the current item in a set, such as the current page in navigation.
The first example link points to page-1.html. Check whether that destination exists relative to the document. A link changes where readers go; it does not perform an action such as saving a form.
What Should You See?
The page should include “Previous”. If it looks different from what you expected, open developer tools and compare the source with the elements the browser created.
Try removing one piece of markup in a scratch copy, refresh the page, and compare the behavior. This is often the fastest way to understand what that piece contributes.
Try It Yourself
- Write the markup for the last page in a three-page set.
- Save your changes, open or refresh the page, and compare the result with the original example.
- Tell a friend what your change did. If you are not sure, undo it, refresh the page, and compare.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Putting aria-current on every page number.
- Avoid picking tags just for their default bold, italic or spaced appearance. Use CSS for presentation.
Key Takeaways
- Pagination helps visitors move through a large collection one page at a time.
- Nav identifies a major collection of navigation links.
- The active page usually gets aria-current="page". At the first and last page, omit unavailable directions rather than leaving broken links.