- Success Criterion 1.3.1
- Conformance level A
Expandable Section With No Expanded/Collapsed State in Code
1.3.1 — Info and Relationships
Scenario
Setting
A customer-support live-chat widget
What’s wrong
Accordion/disclosure state visual-only: no aria-expanded (the open/closed state in code) on the trigger.
Example
A QA pass on a customer-support live-chat widget turns this up: accordion/disclosure state visual-only: no aria-expanded (the open/closed state in code) on the trigger.
Why it matters
Screen-reader, braille, and reading-tool users who depend on coded structure rather than visual layout. On a customer-support live-chat widget, that means they can't tell how the page is organized.
How to test
Click an accordion/disclosure trigger and check aria-expanded in DevTools before and after: if the attribute doesn't exist or doesn't flip true/false, it fails.
How to fix
Add aria-expanded (the open/closed state in code) to the trigger and update it on toggle.
Outcome
With the fix in place on a customer-support live-chat widget, they navigate the content in a sensible order.
Who is affected
Screen-reader, braille, and reading-tool users who depend on coded structure rather than visual layout.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
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