Steps
Steps show a person's place in a short process. The process has a fixed order and end.
A real example
A registration flow shows Company, Owners, Documents, and Review. Going back keeps earlier answers.
Main parts
- 01Current location
- 02Destination labels
- 03Focus order
- 04Responsive behavior
Use it when
Use it when people need to see their place, remaining work, and a safe way back.
Do not use it when
Do not invent steps, force one path through many branches, or block useful movement.
Name used in code
ordered step state + current step Before you ship
Before release, check the page structure, keyboard access, visible focus, contrast, and zoom. Also check loading, empty, error, success, cancel, and reduced-motion states.
Outcome: Use Steps to solve this user need without losing the current context. User context: A registration flow shows Company, Owners, Documents, and Review. Going back keeps earlier answers. Recommended pattern: Steps. Why it fits: Use it when people need to see their place, remaining work, and a safe way back. Do not use it when: Do not invent steps, force one path through many branches, or block useful movement. Product requirements: Define the default, loading, empty, error, success, and recovery states. Keep user input. Give clear feedback after every action. Accessibility and resilience: Use semantic HTML, full keyboard access, and visible focus. Make the layout work when zoomed and support reduced motion. Follow the project’s current rules. Do not add a new UI library unless the project already uses it. Acceptance criteria: The main task works with keyboard only and at 320px width. Focus and status changes are announced. Check loading, failure, retry, cancel, and reduced-motion paths. Evidence and limits (evidence boundary): No single official standard controls the whole term. Its meaning may change across teams, platforms, or frameworks. Unknowns to confirm: Product wording, data source, analytics events, supported devices and languages, and platform limits.
Check this request
Review the current use of Steps. Definition: Steps show a person's place in a short process. The process has a fixed order and end. Release checks: Before release, check the page structure, keyboard access, visible focus, contrast, and zoom. Also check loading, empty, error, success, cancel, and reduced-motion states. Before changing code, report the evidence you found, gaps, severity, and the smallest safe fix.