Standard Pathway

The Standard Pathway is a visually interesting way to section content on a page and link to deeper content. It offers an equal balance of text and a visual.

This component features an option for statistics.

Thumbnail: image of the armory - columned front of building on the left; blocks representing title, text and button on the right

Dos

Use to feature content in a visual way

Alternate between left and right image options

Use to provide context to statistics

Don'ts

Don’t use with large amounts of text (3+ paragraphs)

Don’t use with low-resolution or low-quality images

Variations

By default, images have a defined size and fill and crop to fit. To preserve the full integrity of an image and maintain aspect ratio, such as with a logo, use the "No Cropping" option.

Open in a new window Open in Playground

By default, images have a defined size and fill and crop to fit. To preserve the full integrity of an image and maintain aspect ratio, such as with a logo, use the "No Cropping" option.

Open in a new window Open in Playground

Use when you have 2 Statistics to highlight along with text/image information

Open in a new window Open in Playground

By default, images have a defined size and fill and crop to fit. To preserve the full integrity of an image and maintain aspect ratio, such as with a logo, use this option.

Open in a new window Open in Playground

Use the dark option to set off content. Allows for photo credit. By default, images have a defined size and fill and crop to fit. To preserve the full integrity of an image and maintain aspect ratio, such as with a logo, use the "No Cropping" option.

Open in a new window Open in Playground

Use the light option to set off content. Allows for photo credit. By default, images have a defined size and fill and crop to fit. To preserve the full integrity of an image and maintain aspect ratio, such as with a logo, use the "No Cropping" option.

Open in a new window Open in Playground

Accessibility

Keyboard Accessible

Users are able to use the keyboard to navigate through focusable content using the ‘Tab’ key to navigate/focus and ‘Enter’ or ‘Spacebar’ to activate. WCAG 2.1.1: Keyboard This navigation is done in sequential and logical order. WCAG 2.4.3: Focus Order

Hover and Focus State:

The actionable items each have distinctive styling on hover/focus to provide a visual cue to the user that the element is focused and there is an action that can be taken. WCAG 1.4.13: Content on hover or focus

Color Contrast

A contrast ratio of at least 4:5:1 between text and background color is ensured to enhance readability. WCAG 1.4.3: Contrast (minimum)

Responsive Design

The component scales in relation to the to the screen size to prevent truncating content and reflows properly when zoomed up to 200% without horizontal scrolling WCAG 1.4.10: Reflow

Consistent

Styles are applied consistently including line height, font style, weight, spacing and color of text. WCAG 1.4.12: Text Spacing

Image

Provide effective alt text of the image that is concise and relevant. Avoid phrases like “image of” since screen readers often already announce the type of element. WCAG 1.1: Text Alternatives

Do not use an image to present text. True text should be used whenever possible, as it supports translation, is searchable, and is easier to maintain and customize. WCAG 1.4.5: Images of Text

Title

Use a clear and concise title that describes the pathway content WCAG 2.4.6: Headings and Labels

Body Text

Write body text in clear and simple language. WCAG: 3.1.5: Reading Level Use descriptive link text for inline-links. WCAG 2.4.4: Link Purpose (In Context)

Link

Use effective text to describe what the link is and where it is taking the user. This should be clear, descriptive text that conveys the link content succinctly and the purpose and destination of the link. WCAG 2.4.9: Link Purpose (Link Only)

Example of effective text (preferred): Learn more about Innovate Maryland
Example of generic text (avoid): Learn more

Disclaimer: If the visible link text is not sufficiently descriptive, you can use an aria-label attribute to provide additional context for screen reader users. The aria-label should clearly describe the link's purpose and destination.

If the visible text is not necessary for screen readers (e.g., it's redundant or less descriptive), consider using aria-hidden="true" on the visible text element. This ensures that screen readers will prioritize the aria-label.

Example with aria-label and aria-hidden:

<a href="https://example.com/innovate-maryland" aria-label="Learn more about Innovate Maryland"> <span aria-hidden="true">Learn more</span> </a>

This ensures that the link is accessible while maintaining concise visible text.

Content

If the text area is significantly off balance on desktop, consider using the Sticky Image version of the pathway.

Recommended character limits

Subtitle/Tagline

20 characters (40 max)

Title

40 characters (80 max)

Text Block

350 characters (700 max)

Stat

3 characters (5 max)

Caption or Credit

20 characters (30 max)

Recommended image dimensions

Image

800px × 700px*

*minimum recommended, width by height. Does not apply to "No Cropping" version.

Layout

Standard version can stack and have images on the left or right. There is a dark and light version with an optional pattern background. Title and text block are optional, but one of the two is required. For a similar layout to use with events, see Event Pathway.