Confirmation after a form: Crawl Audit check 140

Short answer: after someone sends a form, they need to know it worked and what happens next. Without that, people send it twice or give up. Check 140 warns when a page has a form but no sign of a thank-you or success message.

What Crawl Audit checks

• Pass: the HTML mentions thank you, thanks, confirmation or success anywhere, or a form sends to a thank-you page.
• Warning: a form, with none of those words.
• Pass: no form.

The word can be anywhere on the page, even in unrelated text, so a pass is a weak signal. Send a test message and see what you get.

What the sources say

• GOV.UK Design System: confirmation pages "reassure users that they have completed a transaction and helps them understand what to expect next." Theirs include a reference number if there is one, what happens next and when, contact details, useful next links, and a way to save a record.
• WCAG 4.1.3 Status Messages (level AA): messages like this should be announced by screen readers "without receiving focus". Its example: "After a user submits a form, text is added to the existing form which reads, "Your form was successfully submitted." The screen reader announces the same message."

A good confirmation

• Say it worked: "Thanks, we've got your message."
• Say what happens next, and when: "We reply within one working day."
• Repeat the key details (email given, reference number) and how to reach you.
• If it appears on the same page, wrap it in role="status" so screen readers announce it.

A separate thank-you page also gives you a clean way to count conversions in analytics.

Sources

• GOV.UK Design System, Confirmation pages, checked 6 October 2026.
• W3C, Understanding 4.1.3 Status Messages (updated 11 May 2026).