Inclusive design guidance
Cognitive accessibility guidelines
- Last reviewed
- 2 August 2026
Use the Cognitive Accessibility Guidelines (COGA) when designing products, websites and content to make them easier for people with cognitive and learning disabilities to use.
** REJIG THE ORDER SO THE BIT ABOUT WHO CREATED COGA IS LESS PROMIMENT also add something upfront like:**COGA complements WCAG by focusing on design decisions that improve usability for people with cognitive and learning disabilities.
Who created COGA
The Cognitive accessibility guidelines (COGA) were written by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) with help from invited experts. W3C also created WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).
WCAG is a set of guidelines that help teams to test and audit products and websites to check how accessible they are.
COGA is a set of guidelines for designers to consider when creating products and websites.
COGA guidelines
The 8 guidelines are design principles that have huge benefits for people with cognitive impairments.
Cognitive accessibility is often overlooked in WCAG, as it does not have clear solutions like tools for low-vision users.
These guidelines give advice on how to make content usable for people who face challenges with thinking, learning, remembering, and problem-solving.
The 8 guidelines:
Help users understand what things are and how to use them Help users find what they need Use clear and understandable content Help users avoid mistakes and know how to correct them Help users focus Ensure processes do not rely on memory Provide help and support Support adaptation and personalisation Guideline 1 Help users understand what things are and how to use them When you design content and components, make sure users can easily understand their purpose and how to use them. Use clear, consistent content and visuals, to help users interact with webpages without too much cognitive load.
Keep your content and website consistent. It makes it easier for people with memory issues, learning disabilities, or attention impairments to find what they need quickly.
You should always:
style buttons and links consistently ensure users are aware of what will happen when interacting use commonly used icons, (if using icons). This also support people with English as an additional language. For example, use a phone icon rather than a headset or a person talking use clear, helpful hint text for inputs place commonly used components in a consistent location and order Guideline 2 Help users find what they need Navigation should be easy and intuitive. Users should quickly identify important information, find features, and access content with minimal effort.
People with cognitive disabilities want to be able to find content with the minimum number of steps and be provided with that content in small, manageable sections. Products and websites should be navigable and searchable, and information should be findable.
You should always:
provide a clear layout with defined sections use a clear heading structure make the most important information easy to find include a sitemap use good information architecture and navigation make help and search features easy to recognise ensure content is searchable Guideline 3 Use clear and understandable content Users may perceive your content in different ways, but it should always be clear, understandable and easy to follow.
People with language, processing, or memory disabilities need content to be written in plain language and is easy to follow without getting overwhelmed.
You should always:
write in plain language, use short sentences, and avoid jargon use the GOV.UK style guide and DfE content style guide include images that support content ensure videos are easy to follow and include captions and a transcript avoid large pages of written content use a consistent, easy-to-read font make choices clear format content as users expect to see it (for example, date of birth) use colour to enhance readability and urgency Guideline 4 Help users avoid mistakes and know how to correct them Only ask users for information you need when designing a form. If an error occurs, explain what went wrong, and how to resolve it.
Some people find it difficult to be precise when they enter information which can cause errors. Users should be able to resolve errors, undo mistakes and easily understand where they went wrong.
You should always:
help users avoid mistakes by using patterns like 'check answers' show examples of potential failures or errors be flexible in data validation, for example, allow spaces in inputs avoid abstract concepts, for example, do not use stars for required fields remove guesswork, for example, if using checkboxes, add 'check all that apply'. For radio buttons, add 'choose one option' provide a back link use clear error messages that include the problem, cause, and recommendation provide a summary of errors offer alternative methods to resolve issues, like a phone number or helpdesk link avoid timeouts or provide a mechanism to easily extend Guideline 5 Help users focus Users do not want to be distracted. This can be especially problematic for people with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Animations, banners and adverts can be extremely distracting for many people.
Users can often lose focus or be distracted during tasks. Emails, messages and colleagues in the office can all be distractors. It's important that users can reorient themselves if they do become distracted or have to switch tasks during a process.
You should always:
avoid cluttered layouts use visual hierarchy to emphasise important content narrowly scope tasks provide one thing per page don't distract users mid-task, for example, with ads or signups avoid autoplaying videos or sounds (or at least provide a way to stop them easily) provide clear navigation aids to help users reorient themselves Guideline 6 Ensure processes do not rely on memory Users should not have to rely on memory to recall important information or complete authentication.
Users with short-term and working memory difficulties can find it difficult to recall passwords or information from previous steps.
You should always:
re-provide information when required for a task make important information visible, not hidden in tooltips provide hint text use autocomplete values for inputs allow copy and paste for inputs Guideline 7 Provide help and support Users want assistance to be accessible, consistently available and findable. Users can also require support when completing tasks.
Provide users with different support mechanisms, so they can choose one that suits their needs. Also provide support which helps users to know what a task requires, as well as any materials they will need.
You should always:
link support at the source provide help within error messages link to documentation help users self-serve where possible provide multiple support channels tell users what materials they might need to provide Guideline 8 Support adaptation and personalisation Users want to use their own settings and preferences when navigating your product or website.
Some users may have situational requirements which mean they do not rely on assistive technology, but instead use specific tools or browser setting to view content.
You should always:
support dark mode and high contrast mode support font settings like text and line spacing use responsive units (rem, em) and avoid px support reduced motion