Set of Web Pages
A set of web pages refers to a group of web pages that share a common objective and are produced by the same team. This concept, drawn from the WCAG glossary, defines the scope within which consistency rules in accessibility apply: same navigation, same labels, same help location.
Your main menu appears on the left on the home page and on the right on the contact page. Your "Search" button is called "Find" elsewhere on the site. For a user navigating by keyboard or with a screen reader, these are real obstacles. The WCAG groups these consistency requirements under a precise concept: the set of web pages.
#What the official definition says
The WCAG 2.1 glossary defines a set of web pages as a "collection of web pages that share a common objective and are created by the same author, group or organization". The RGAA glossary adopts this definition.
This is the scope within which consistency is required. Several WCAG criteria refer to it:
- 3.2.3 (AA): consistent navigation must appear in the same order on each page of the set
- 3.2.4 (AA): components with the same function must be identified consistently
- 3.2.6 (A, WCAG 2.2): help mechanisms must remain in the same relative location
#One site, multiple sets
An entire website can form a single set of web pages. But it can also contain several. An e-commerce site with a blog and a shop: two distinct sets, two consistency scopes.
The question is not trivial. Two discussions on the WCAG GitHub repository show that even W3C experts debate the exact boundaries of the concept. The practical rule: if the pages share an objective and a production team, they form a set.
#The audit pitfall
During a WCAG audit, the scope is defined before testing. If you consider your entire site as one set, each navigation inconsistency between two sections counts as a non-conformity. Defining more precise sets does not exempt you from consistency, but frames the evaluation scope.
The other mistake: testing each page in isolation. Criteria 3.2.3 and 3.2.4 only make sense at the set level. Checking a page without comparing it to others means missing half the criterion.
#In summary
Identify your sets of web pages before starting an audit or redesign. Verify that navigation, labels, and help remain consistent within each set. WCAG compliance is not measured page by page, but within a shared context.