Time, motion & flashing

The Page Reloads or Redirects Itself on a Timer

The page reloads or jumps to another page after a set time, so people lose their place, their typing, or the page before they finish.

meta-refreshWCAG 2.0Introduced in WCAG 2.0.Level AA — the minimum. Missing it blocks people outright.

Status: CriticalCritical — Someone can complete the task only with great difficulty or outside help.CurrentScanners run this rule today.
Owner: DevContentTestProduct
Audit: AutomatedA scanner finds it, and a clean scan means it's fixed.

Why it matters

A <meta http-equiv="refresh"> tag tells the browser to reload the page, or go to a new one, after a number of seconds. The person gets no warning and no way to stop it.

People who read slowly, use a screen reader or zoom in need more time. When the page reloads, they're sent back to the top. 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 without warning and starts again from the top of the page.	High impact
Cognitive and neurodivergent users	The page changes before they've finished reading, and they can't tell what happened.	High impact
Low-vision users (magnification)	Their zoomed-in view resets, and they have to find their place again.	Partial impact
Keyboard-only users	Their focus jumps back to the top, so they must Tab through everything again.	Partial impact
Voice control users	Commands can land on a page that has just changed under them.	Partial impact
Motor and dexterity	Slow typing or pointing may not finish before the reload wipes it out.	Partial impact

Business & product impact

Business & product impact, with how much each claim weighs
Area	Why	Impact
Legal	It fails WCAG 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable at Level A, the minimum. Complaints under Australia's Disability Discrimination Act and EN 301 549 point to WCAG.	High impact
Conversion	A reload that wipes a half-filled form loses the sale or sign-up.	Moderate impact
SEO	Search engines prefer a proper server redirect to a timed one. It's a small gain, not a selling point.	Low impact
Brand trust	Pages that jump around feel broken to everyone, not only disabled people.	Moderate impact
Cost to fix	Usually a small change: delete one tag, or move the redirect to the server.	High impact

Fixing it in code

Sending people to a page's new address

Don't

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

A screen reader says: “"This page has moved." Five seconds later, a new page starts reading from the top with no warning.”

<!-- On the server: 301 redirect from /old-page to /new-page -->
<p>This page has moved to <a href="/new-page">the new page</a>.</p>

A screen reader says: “The new page loads straight away. If the notice is shown: "This page has moved to the new page, link."”

A server redirect is instant, so nobody is caught part-way through reading.

Keeping live information up to date

Don't

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

A screen reader says: “Every minute the page reloads and reading restarts at "Departures, heading level 1".”

<h1>Departures</h1>
<button type="button" id="refresh">Refresh times</button>

A screen reader says: “"Refresh times, button" — the page only updates when the person asks.”

The person decides when to update, so they never lose their place.

Designer's handoff note

Don't design pages that change on a timer. If content must stay fresh, give people a visible "Refresh" button, or a way to pause or extend automatic updates.

Quick test

Tool

The browser alone

Checklist

Step 1: Open the page and don't touch anything.
Step 2: Start reading, or type in a field.
Step 3: Wait a minute and watch for a reload or a jump to another page.

Pass: The page stays put until you choose to move on.
Fail: The page reloads or redirects by itself, and you lose your place or typing.

What a green scan still misses

The scanner only sees the <meta> tag. It can't catch reloads or redirects done with JavaScript timers, or session timeouts — check those by waiting on the page.

Reference

Rule ID: meta-refresh
Raised by: axe-core: “Delayed refresh under 20 hours must not be used”
WCAG: 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable (opens in a new tab) · Level A · since WCAG 2.0
Other standards: EN 301 549 9.2.2.1 · RGAA 13.1.2
Read more: Deque University: meta-refresh (opens in a new tab)
Last reviewed: 14 October 2026