ARIA Attribute Generator – Create Accessible HTML

ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) is a set of attributes that define ways to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities, especially for dynamic content and advanced user interface controls. When to use ARIA: Building custom interactive widgets (tabs, sliders, dialogs) Creating dynamic content that updates without page reload When semantic HTML alone isn't sufficient Adding accessibility to legacy code that can't be refactored When NOT to use ARIA: When semantic HTML elements already exist (use <button> not <div role="button">) To override native HTML semantics without good reason As a substitute for proper HTML structure Golden Rule: No ARIA is better than bad ARIA. Use semantic HTML first!

The most commonly used and important ARIA attributes include: role: Defines the type of element (button, dialog, navigation, etc.) aria-label: Provides an accessible name for an element aria-labelledby: References another element that labels this one aria-describedby: References element(s) that describe this one aria-hidden: Hides elements from assistive technologies aria-live: Announces dynamic content changes aria-expanded: Indicates if collapsible content is expanded aria-pressed: Indicates toggle button state aria-checked: Indicates checkbox/radio state aria-disabled: Indicates if element is disabled

Choose an ARIA role based on the purpose and behavior of your element: button: Triggers an action (submit, open, toggle) link: Navigates to another page or location dialog: Modal or non-modal window navigation: Collection of navigation links tablist/tab/tabpanel: Tab interface pattern menu/menuitem: Application menu (not site navigation) alert: Important time-sensitive message checkbox: Checkable option with tri-state support slider: Input for selecting value from range progressbar: Status indicator for operations Refer to the ARIA Authoring Practices Guide for complete patterns.

aria-label: Directly provides the accessible name as a string value. Example: <button aria-label="Close dialog">×</button> aria-labelledby: References the ID of another element that provides the accessible name. Example: <div role="dialog" aria-labelledby="dialog-title"><h2 id="dialog-title">Settings</h2>...</div> When to use each: Use aria-label when the name isn't visible in the UI Use aria-labelledby when there's existing visible text that serves as the name aria-labelledby can reference multiple IDs for combined labels aria-labelledby overrides aria-label if both are present

Yes! This is critical and often overlooked. ARIA only changes how assistive technologies interpret elements - it does NOT add functionality. When you use ARIA roles, you must also: Add keyboard support: Handle Enter, Space, arrow keys, Escape, etc. Make it focusable: Add tabindex="0" for non-standard elements Manage focus: Move focus appropriately (e.g., to dialog on open) Update states: Change aria-expanded, aria-checked, etc. dynamically Handle interactions: Respond to both mouse and keyboard events Example: <div role="button"> needs tabindex, Enter/Space handlers, and :focus styles to actually work as a button.

Testing ARIA implementations requires multiple approaches: Screen readers: Test with NVDA (Windows), JAWS (Windows), VoiceOver (Mac/iOS), TalkBack (Android) Browser DevTools: Use Accessibility Inspector in Chrome/Firefox/Safari Automated tools: Run axe DevTools, WAVE, or Lighthouse accessibility audits Keyboard navigation: Ensure all functionality works with keyboard only W3C Validator: Validate your HTML to catch ARIA errors Common issues to watch for: ARIA attributes on non-interactive elements Conflicting roles (e.g., role="button" on <a>) Required attributes missing Invalid attribute values States not updating with user interaction