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Understanding SC 3.3.2: Labels or Instructions (Level A)

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Summary

This article explains Success Criterion 3.3.2 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) which requires content authors to provide labels or instructions that identify user input controls such as radio buttons, checkboxes, and comboboxes. It also covers expected data formats, examples of labels, and techniques for providing clear and unambiguous instructions. Additionally, the article explains the benefits of providing labels or instructions, examples of successful and unsuccessful implementations, and key terms related to the Success Criterion.

Q&As

What is the intent of SC 3.3.2?
The intent of SC 3.3.2 is to have content authors present instructions or labels that identify the controls in a form so that users know what input data is expected.

What are the benefits of providing clear labels and instructions?
The benefits of providing clear and unambiguous labels and instructions (including examples of expected data formats) are that it helps all users, particularly those with cognitive, language, and learning disabilities, to enter information correctly and prevents users from making incomplete or incorrect form submissions.

What techniques can be used to meet the requirements of SC 3.3.2?
Sufficient techniques for meeting the requirements of SC 3.3.2 include G131: Providing descriptive labels AND one of the following: ARIA1: Using the aria-describedby property to provide a descriptive label for user interface controls, ARIA9: Using aria-labelledby to concatenate a label from several text nodes, ARIA17: Using grouping roles to identify related form controls, G89: Providing expected data format and example, G184: Providing text instructions at the beginning of a form or set of fields that describes the necessary input, G162: Positioning labels to maximize predictability of relationships, G83: Providing text descriptions to identify required fields that were not completed, H90: Indicating required form controls using label or legend, PDF5: Indicating required form controls in PDF forms, H44: Using label elements to associate text labels with form controls, PDF10: Providing labels for interactive form controls in PDF documents, H71: Providing a description for groups of form controls using fieldset and legend elements, G167: Using an adjacent button to label the purpose of a field.

What are some common mistakes which would fail this success criterion?
Common mistakes that are considered failures of this Success Criterion by the WCAG Working Group include F82: Failure of Success Criterion 3.3.2 by visually formatting a set of phone number fields but not including a text label.

What is the difference between a label and a name in the context of this success criterion?
A label is presented to all users whereas the name may be hidden and only exposed by assistive technology. In many (but not all) cases the name and the label are the same. The term label is not limited to the label element in HTML. A name is text by which software can identify a component within Web content to the user. The name may be hidden and only exposed by assistive technology, whereas a label is presented to all users. In many (but not all) cases, the label and the name are the same. This is unrelated to the name attribute in HTML.

AI Comments

👍 This article provides a comprehensive understanding of SC 3.3.2, offering clear examples of how labels and instructions should be provided for user input. Additionally, it is great that the article offers techniques that can be used to make content more accessible.

👎 This article does not provide any guidance on how to make the labels and instructions visually appealing, which can be a challenge when trying to convey important information. Additionally, the article does not offer any advice on how to provide labels and instructions in alternative formats that may be more helpful for users with disabilities.

AI Discussion

Me: The article is about understanding the implications of the Success Criterion 3.3.2, which is about providing labels or instructions when content requires user input. It talks about the intent of this success criterion, the benefits, examples, techniques, failures, and key terms.

Friend: That sounds interesting. What are the implications of this success criterion?

Me: Well, the intent of this success criterion is to make sure that labels and instructions are provided when content requires user input. This will help people with cognitive, language, and learning disabilities to enter information correctly. It also prevents users from having to go back and fix submission errors. The article also talks about techniques that content authors can use to meet the success criterion, as well as failures and key terms. So, the implication is that content authors should make sure that they provide clear and unambiguous labels and instructions for user input in order to maximize accessibility for all users.

Action items

Research and understand the other Success Criteria related to this article, such as 1.3.1: Info and Relationships, 4.1.2: Name, Role and Value, 2.4.6: Headings and Labels.
Research and understand the techniques and failures listed in the article, such as G131, ARIA1, ARIA9, ARIA17, G89, G184, G162, G83, H90, PDF5, H44, PDF10, H71, G167, F82.
Implement the techniques listed in the article in order to ensure that labels and instructions are provided when content requires user input.

Technical terms

Label: Text or other component with a text alternative that is presented to a user to identify a component within Web content.
Instructions: Text by which software can identify a component within Web content to the user.
User Input: Any content that is not a sequence of characters that can be programmatically determined or where the sequence is not expressing something in human language.
Presentation: Rendering of the content in a form to be perceived by users.
Accessible Name: Text by which software can identify a component within Web content to the user.
User Agent: Any software that retrieves and presents Web content for users.
Web Page: A non-embedded resource obtained from a single URI using HTTP plus any other resources that are used in the rendering or intended to be rendered together with it by a user agent.
Web Resource: A Web resource including all embedded images and media.
AJAX: Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX).
Single-Page Web Site: A Web site or just one page within a Web site.
Assistive Technology: Hardware and/or software that acts as a user agent, or along with a mainstream user agent, to provide functionality to meet the requirements of users with disabilities that go beyond those offered by mainstream user agents.