Time, motion & flashing

The Page Refreshes or Redirects Itself After a Delay

The page reloads or jumps to another page on a timer, so people lose their place, their reading or their typing before they're ready.

meta-refresh-no-exceptionsWCAG 2.0Introduced in WCAG 2.0.Level AAAAAA — the highest level; beyond the Australian baseline (AA).

Status: ModerateModerate — An annoyance, with a workaround.CurrentScanners run this rule today.
Owner: DevContentTestProduct
Audit: AutomatedA scanner finds it, and a clean scan means it's fixed.

Why it matters

A delayed <meta http-equiv="refresh"> tag reloads the page or sends people elsewhere after a set time. Nobody asked for it, and nobody can stop it.

People who read slowly, use a screen reader or zoom in get pulled away mid-sentence. Their focus jumps back to the top, and anything they typed may be gone.

Who it affects

Who it affects, and how much
Who	What they experience	Impact
Screen reader users	Reading stops and jumps back to the top of the page without warning.	High impact
Cognitive and neurodivergent users	The page changes before they've finished reading, which is confusing and stressful.	High impact
Low-vision users (magnification)	When zoomed in, they lose their spot and must find it again.	Partial impact
Keyboard-only users	Their focus resets to the top, so they must Tab all the way back.	Partial impact
Voice control users	A command in progress can land on a page that has just changed.	Partial impact
Motor and dexterity	Slow typing or pointing may not finish before the page reloads.	Partial impact

Business & product impact

Business & product impact, with how much each claim weighs
Area	Why	Impact
Legal	This rule checks Level AAA criteria, above the usual WCAG 2.2 Level AA target. But timed refreshes can also break Level AA timing rules, so check them.	Moderate impact
Conversion	A reload that wipes a half-filled form or cart loses people at the worst moment.	Moderate impact
SEO	Search engines prefer proper server redirects to timed ones, but the gain is small.	Low impact
Brand trust	Pages that jump on their own feel broken and pushy.	Moderate impact
Cost to fix	Usually one line to remove. A server redirect or a refresh button is quick to add.	High impact

Fixing it in code

A page that refreshes itself every minute

Don't

<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="60">
<h1>Live scores</h1>

A screen reader says: “Live scores, heading level 1 … (a minute later, the page reloads and reading starts again from the top)”

<h1>Live scores</h1>
<p>Last updated 2:15 pm.</p>
<button type="button">Refresh scores</button>

A screen reader says: “Refresh scores, button”

People update the page when they choose, not when a timer does.

A page that moved

Don't

<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="5; url=/new-page">
<p>This page has moved. Redirecting in 5 seconds…</p>

A screen reader says: “This page has moved. Redirecting in 5 seconds… (then the page changes mid-sentence)”

<!-- Best: a 301 redirect set up on the server. If you can't, redirect instantly: -->
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; url=/new-page">
<p>This page has moved to <a href="/new-page">the new page</a>.</p>

A screen reader says: “This page has moved to the new page, link”

An instant or server redirect never cuts anyone off part-way through.

Designer's handoff note

Don't design pages that change on a timer. If content must stay fresh, show when it was last updated and give a clear refresh button.

Product owners: decide if auto-refresh is truly needed. If so, let people turn it off.

Quick test

Tool

Your browser's View Source

Checklist

Step 1: Open the page and press Ctrl U (⌘ ⌥ U on a Mac) to view the source.
Step 2: Press Ctrl F (⌘ F) and search for "refresh".
Step 3: Look at the number in the `content` attribute.

Pass: There's no refresh tag, or its delay is 0.
Fail: The tag has a delay above 0, like `content="30"`.

What a green scan still misses

A scanner finds the <meta> tag, but not refreshes done with JavaScript timers. Watch the page for a few minutes to catch those.

Reference

Rule ID: meta-refresh-no-exceptions
Raised by: axe-core: “Delayed refresh must not be used”
WCAG: 2.2.4 Interruptions (opens in a new tab) · Level AAA · since WCAG 2.0
3.2.5 Change on Request (opens in a new tab) · Level AAA · since WCAG 2.0
Read more: Deque University: meta-refresh-no-exceptions (opens in a new tab)
Last reviewed: 14 October 2026