GOV.WALES components: accordion

Accordions risk making content more difficult for users to consume as:

• they hide content
• users may not notice or understand them

It’s usually better to:

• simplify and reduce the amount of content
• split the content across multiple pages
• keep the content on a single page, separated by headings
• use a list of links at the start of the page to take the user to page sections

Content editors should only use accordions when all the following apply:

• there is a lot of page content
• the content can be grouped under distinct headings
• each group of content meets a different user need
• on a single visit users are only likely to need content under 1 or 2 accordions
• other ways of helping users quickly navigate the page do not work (for example a contents section does not work)

Accordions may also be useful for step-by-step processes. 

Designers of new GOV.WALES products, for example a new service, must follow the standards in the GOV.WALES GEL.

Ensure each accordion has a heading which is:

• specific, it clearly describes the content it introduces
• succinct, it describes the content in as few words as possible

Do not include iFrames in an accordion, for example a video.