- Success Criterion 2.4.4
- Conformance level A
ARIA Label That Overrides a Link’s Visible Text Incorrectly
2.4.4 — Link Purpose (In Context)
Scenario
Setting
An email client's compose window
What’s wrong
aria-label overriding visible text with something unrelated (purpose obscured — also 2.5.3).
Example
An email client's compose window shows the problem clearly: aria-label overriding visible text with something unrelated (purpose obscured — also 2.5.3).
Why it matters
People who browse by links list or voice commands and need unambiguous link purposes. In this case (an email client's compose window), they can't tell what's going on without extra effort.
How to test
Inspect the aria-label attribute in DevTools versus the visible link text: if the label describes something entirely different from what's shown, it fails.
How to fix
The link's purpose must be clear from its accessible name (or name plus immediate programmatic context), and unique among links going to different destinations.
Outcome
Once corrected, an email client's compose window lets them move through the content with confidence.
Who is affected
People who browse by links list or voice commands and need unambiguous link purposes.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- Link’s Purpose Explained Only in Unrelated Page Text
- Image-Only Link or Button With No Accessible Name
- Repeated ‘Click Here’ Links With No Way to Tell Them Apart
- Multiple ‘Download’ Links With No File Name or Type Given
- Icon-Only Link With No Accessible Name at All
- Link Text That’s Just a Long, Meaningless Tracking URL