Conditional sections

Last updated: 12 July 2023

Conditional sections allow you to reveal or hide information or questions based on a user’s previous answer.

Things to consider

When using conditional sections, you should consider the impact of the structure.

Conditional sections can:

reduce cognitive overload for the user by reducing the overall amount of content on the page
allow a more streamlined completion for a user as they only see relevant parts of the form. Effectively this is showing people the right questions at the right time. It also allows a user to change their answer without moving back or forward through the form.

However, conditional sections may also:

‘hide’ information that may have informed the user’s decision or understanding. For example, asking if a user has a thing, and when they answer ‘no’ conditionally revealing information about the thing and linking to further guidance which takes them away from the form
appear inconsistent to some users who are unfamiliar with conditional formatting. This is because it’s not a format that can be consistently applied. Radio buttons within radio buttons may present issues for screen magnifier users or those with cognitive impairments.

Depending on the user type, it can be better to provide information and context about the thing before the question, or to branch to a new page.

You should know why you are asking a question, consider who your users are and the impact of a format structure on the specific user type(s).