Skip to content

Tag: W3C

A11y 101 – 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions

Before I Can Fill It, I Need to Know What You’re Asking 

There’s a form I encountered recently that had twelve fields. No labels. Just placeholder text inside each input that disappeared the moment you started typing. If you forgot what a field was asking for, you had to delete everything you’d entered just to see the hint again.

Twelve fields. Zero labels. Infinite frustration.

That’s not a design choice. That’s a barrier. And it’s exactly the kind of thing WCAG 3.3.2: Labels or Instructions exists to dismantle.

Comments closed

A11y 101 – 3.2.1 On Focus

If I had a podcast, I would tell you to close your eyes and imagine the following. But this is a blog post…

You’re walking down a hallway, hand out, ready to turn a doorknob. Your hand lands on the knob… and suddenly the door slides open before you touch it. Or worse, the room you thought you were entering is actually a closet full of vacuum cleaners. Disorienting, right? Jarring? A little bit scary?

That’s how a user feels when they tab through a webpage and a piece of content jumps, moves, or redirects them without asking for permission first.

Comments closed

A11y 101: 2.4.7 Focus Visible

Disabilities come in all sorts. So do users. Some users can manipulate a mouse. Some rely on keyboard alone. Others have assistive technology. When you use a mouse, where your mouse is located is visible. This lets the sighted mouse user know what they are clicking on and where the focus is. Keyboard only users need something else. Let’s get into the details of what is needed.

Comments closed