- Success Criterion 3.3.1
- Conformance level A
Inline Error Icon With No Accessible Text Explaining It
3.3.1 — Error Identification
Scenario
Setting
An online marketplace's seller dashboard
What’s wrong
Inline validation icons (✗) with no accessible text describing the error.
Example
This shows up on an online marketplace's seller dashboard: inline validation icons (✗) with no accessible text describing the error.
Why it matters
Everyone submitting forms — especially screen-reader and color-blind users who miss color-only cues. On an online marketplace's seller dashboard, this barrier means they have to guess at the correct format.
How to test
Submit invalid data: if the only error indicator is an icon (✗) with no accessible text describing what's wrong, it fails.
How to fix
A text error message must identify each field in error and be exposed to assistive technology (announced automatically or focused).
Outcome
Corrected, an online marketplace's seller dashboard now lets a visitor finish the task in one attempt.
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 Text That’s Visible but Never Announced to Screen Readers
- Error Summary That Names Fields Too Vaguely to Identify Them