- Success Criterion 1.3.1
- Conformance level A
Field Instructions Never Linked to the Field They Explain
1.3.1 — Info and Relationships
Scenario
Setting
An e-book reader's library page
What’s wrong
Instruction text displayed near fields (e.g., 'Enter the 6-digit code from your SMS') is not programmatically linked to those fields, so a screen reader user focused on the field never hears the instruction.
Example
<div class="heading">Shipping Address</div>Why it matters
Screen-reader, braille, and reading-tool users who depend on coded structure rather than visual layout.
How to test
Focus a field that has instruction text displayed nearby (e.g., 'Enter the 6-digit code'): a screen reader should announce it too — if aria-describedby isn't wired, it won't.
How to fix
Link the instruction to its field(s) with aria-describedby (code that ties help or error text to a field) so it's read on focus.
<h2>Shipping Address</h2>A real heading element exposes the section structure to assistive tech; a styled div doesn't.
Outcome
On an e-book reader's library page, this barrier is gone for screen-reader, braille — they can finish what they came here to do.
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)
Related scenarios
- Text Styled to Look Like a Heading Instead of Coded as One
- Text Columns Faked With Spaces Instead of Real Table Markup
- Table Layout Faked With Spaces Instead of Real Table Code
- Clickable Div Acting as a Link Button With No Real Role
- Structural HTML Tags Used Purely for Visual Styling
- Layout-Only Table Wrongly Coded With Real Header Cells