Use aria-roledescription on elements with a semantic role
Learn Web Accessibility
Compliance Data & Impact
Disabilities Affected
- Blind
- Deafblind
- Mobility
Standard(s)
- WCAG 2.1 (A)
- WCAG 2.0 (A)
WCAG Success Criteria [WCAG 2.1 (A)]
- 4.1.2: MUST: Name, Role, Value
WCAG Success Criteria [WCAG 2.0 (A)]
- 4.1.2: MUST: Name, Role, Value
How to Fix the Problem
ARIA explicitly defines which attributes are allowed for any given role and for every attribute, where that attribute may be used. The detailed information on each attribute can be found by looking at the documentation for each role and/or each attribute.
The aria-roledescription rule includes two failing conditions, three passing conditions, and two incomplete conditions.
aria-roledescription failing conditions:
aria-roledescription returns false for elements with no role value on elements where a role value should be specified.
-
<p aria-roledescription="my paragraph" id="fail1">paragraph</p> -
<div aria-roledescription="my div" id="fail2">div</div>
aria-roledescription passing conditions:
- aria-roledescription returns true for elements with an explicitly supported role.
- aria-roledescription returns true for elements with an implicitly supported role.
-
<img aria-roledescription="my img" src="foo.png" id="pass1" /> -
<button aria-roledescription="my button" id="pass2">button</button> -
<div role="combobox" aria-roledescription="my combobox" id="pass3"></div>
aria-roledescription incomplete conditions:
aria-roledescription returns undefined for elements with an unsupported role.
-
<h1 aria-roledescription="my heading" id="incomplete1">heading</h1> -
<div role="rowgroup" aria-roledescription="my row" id="incomplete2"></div>
Specific Reference: For more information about which ARIA
attributes may or should not be used by HTML element, see
ARIA in HTML - Document conformance requirements for use of ARIA attributes
in HTML
. For more information about using the
aria-roledescription attribute, see
ARIA in HTML - aria-roledescription (property)
.
General Reference: For general ARIA information refer to the
following external resources. ARIA is primarily used by web developers and
programmers; implementing ARIA effectively usually requires JavaScript skills.
Learning ARIA can be a lengthy process due to programming logic complexities
and nuances in the specification requiring that ARIA role and
aria-roledescription combinations are valid.
Why it Matters
Inappropriate aria-roledescription attribute values that conflict
with an element's implied or explicit role value can interfere
with the accessibility of the web page. A conflicting
aria-roledescription attribute value may result in no effect on
the accessibility of the application and may trigger behavior that disables
accessibility for entire portions of an application.
When aria-roledescription> attributes are applied to HTML
elements not in accordance with WAI-ARIA 1.1, semantics conflict between the
aria-roledescription value and the implicit or explicit element
role value which may result in assistive technology products
reporting nonsensical user interface (UI) information that does not correctly
represent the intended UI experience.
Rule Description
Ensures that the aria-roledescription attribute is only used on
elements with an implicit or explicit role values.
The Algorithm (in simple terms)
Use aria-roledescription values to appropriately describe implied
or explicit element role values.
Resources
Refer to the complete list of axe 4.1 rules.
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