- Success Criterion 3.3.1
- Conformance level A
Error Text That’s Visible but Never Announced to Screen Readers
3.3.1 — Error Identification
Scenario
Setting
A job board's application form
What’s wrong
Error text present visually but not associated or announced (no aria-describedby (code that ties help or error text to a field), no live region (code that makes screen readers announce updates)/alert, focus untouched) — user not *informed* in text they can find.
Example
A job board's application form shows the problem clearly: error text present visually but not associated or announced (no aria-describedby (code that ties help or error text to a field), no live region (code that makes screen readers announce updates)/alert, focus untouched) — user not *informed* in text they can find.
Why it matters
Everyone submitting forms — especially screen-reader and color-blind users who miss color-only cues. Here, on a job board's application form, the result is they have to guess at the correct format.
How to test
Submit invalid data and check DevTools: if the error text isn't linked to its field via aria-describedby, and no live region announces it, a screen reader user won't discover it.
How to fix
A text error message must identify each field in error and be exposed to assistive technology (announced automatically or focused).
Outcome
After the fix, the same visitor to a job board's application form can now see exactly what went wrong and how to fix it.
Who is affected
Everyone submitting forms — especially screen-reader and color-blind users who miss color-only cues.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- Form Submission With No Way to Identify What Went Wrong
- Form That Fails Silently With No Error Message at All
- Form Errors Marked Only by a Red Border, With No Text
- Generic ‘There Were Errors’ Message With No Field Named
- Error Summary That Names Fields Too Vaguely to Identify Them
- Error Toast That Disappears Before It Can Be Read