ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) labels are attributes that can be added to HTML elements to provide additional information about the element’s purpose and functionality to assistive technologies, such as screen readers. This information can be used by users with disabilities, such as those who are visually impaired, to better understand and interact with the content on a web page.
ARIA labels can be used to provide information about the role of an element (e.g. “button”, “checkbox”, “tab”), the state of an element (e.g. “checked”, “disabled”), and the relationship between elements (e.g. “labelledby”, “describedby”).
Aria labels on Buttons
For example, an ARIA label can be used to indicate that a button is the main submit button of the form, or that a text field is a required field.
It’s important to note that while ARIA labels can be used to improve accessibility, they do not replace proper HTML semantics and it’s always better to use the appropriate HTML element when possible. Additionally, while ARIA helps with accessibility it’s not a panacea, as assistive technologies may not support all ARIA features or may interpret them differently. Therefore, it’s important to test the final result with assistive technology and users with disabilities to make sure that it’s fully accessible.
In summary, ARIA labels are attributes that can be added to HTML elements to provide additional information about the element’s purpose and functionality to assistive technologies, such as screen readers. They can be used to improve accessibility for users with disabilities, but it’s not a replacement for proper HTML semantics and it’s important to test the final result with assistive technology and users with disabilities to make sure that it’s fully accessible.
