How can ARIA attributes improve form accessibility?

1 What are ARIA attributes?

ARIA attributes are a way of adding extra information or instructions to your HTML elements that are not available through the standard attributes or roles. For example, you can use ARIA attributes to indicate the state, value, name, or description of a form element, or to provide keyboard shortcuts, live regions, or error messages. ARIA attributes start with the prefix aria- followed by the name of the attribute, such as aria-label, aria-required, or aria-invalid. You can use ARIA attributes in conjunction with HTML5 semantic elements and native attributes to create more accessible and user-friendly forms.

2 How to use ARIA labels and descriptions?

One of the most common and useful ARIA attributes is aria-label, which allows you to provide a concise and clear label for a form element that may not have a visible or meaningful label otherwise. For example, you can use aria-label to label a search input, a submit button, or a checkbox. Aria-label overrides any other label or text content associated with the element, so make sure it is accurate and relevant. Another ARIA attribute that can help you provide more context and detail for a form element is aria-describedby, which allows you to reference another element that contains a longer description or explanation. For example, you can use aria-describedby to link a form element to a help text, a tooltip, or an error message.

3 How to use ARIA roles and states?

ARIA roles and states are another way of enhancing the accessibility and semantics of your forms by defining the type and the current condition of a form element. ARIA roles are used to specify the role or function of an element, such as button, checkbox, radio, or slider. ARIA roles can help assistive technologies understand and interact with the element, especially if it is not a native HTML element or if it has a custom behavior. ARIA states are used to indicate the state or property of an element, such as checked, disabled, expanded, or invalid. ARIA states can help assistive technologies notify the user of any changes or feedback related to the element.

4 How to use ARIA live regions and alerts?

ARIA live regions and alerts are a way of informing the user of any dynamic updates or important messages that occur on your form, such as validation errors, confirmation messages, or progress indicators. ARIA live regions are sections of your page that are marked with the attribute aria-live, which specifies the priority and frequency of updates that should be announced by assistive technologies. For example, you can use aria-live="polite" for updates that are not urgent, such as a status message, or aria-live="assertive" for updates that are critical, such as an error message. ARIA alerts are a special type of live region that are used to convey urgent and important information to the user, such as a warning or an alert. ARIA alerts are marked with the role="alert" and they are automatically announced by assistive technologies without requiring any user interaction.