Module 4: Appendix 2—Reserved terminology

On this page:

*

* (Asterisk)

Asterisk is reserved for indicating required fields. It should not be used in web applications for other purposes (e.g. it should not be used to indicate a footnote).

B

Back

Actions labelled 'Back' are reserved for taking the user one step backwards in the browser history – the same behaviour as using the browser's back button.

If the behaviour of the action is different to the traditional back button (for example, a button that saves the user's form data before going back), then a different label should be chosen (for example, 'previous').

C

Close

Actions labelled 'Close' are reserved for closing a window or dialogue only and are not to be used for other purposes.

Continue

Actions labelled 'Continue' are reserved for taking the user to the next screen in a process and should save the user's data. This action should be a button if there is a form on the current page. If there is no form on the page (no data to save), it should be presented as a link.

Contact details

Form sections labelled 'Contact details' are reserved for collecting personal information used to contact the user. Note: These details should only be collected if contact with the user is required to complete their transaction. When collecting other personal information, the form section should relate to the purpose for collecting the data for example, 'Identification details'.

N

Next

Non-preferred term. Use 'Continue' instead.