Re: Does placeholder text in form fields need to meet 1.4.3? ( LC-2944)

 Dear Glenda Sims ,

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group has reviewed the
comments you sent [1] on the Last Call Working Draft [2] of the
Understanding WCAG 2.0 (Public Review Draft) published on 24 Jul 2014.
Thank you for having taken the time to review the document and to send us
comments!

The Working Group's response to your comment is included below.

Please review it carefully and let us know by email at
public-comments-wcag20@w3.org if you agree with it or not before 12 August
2014. In case of disagreement, you are requested to provide a specific
solution for or a path to a consensus with the Working Group. If such a
consensus cannot be achieved, you will be given the opportunity to raise a
formal objection which will then be reviewed by the Director during the
transition of this document to the next stage in the W3C Recommendation
Track.

Thanks,

For the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group,
Michael Cooper
W3C Staff Contact

 1. http://www.w3.org/mid/E1X7PKS-0004G2-Ap@shauna.w3.org
 2. http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/2014/WD-UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20-20140724/


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Your comment on Visual Presentation: Understanding Success Criterion 1.4.3:
> Summary of Issue: Does placeholder text in form fields need to meet
> 1.4.3?
> Comment (Including rationale for any proposed change):
> We are having a debate (within Deque and with a client) on the color
> contrast of placeholder text. The default color of placeholder text in
> browsers does not meet the 4.5 to 1 color contrast requirement.  At
> Deque, we consider placeholder text to be instructions (valuable
> information) and so we have been calling a violation on placeholder text
> that isn't 4.5 to 1 (assuming it isn't large).  I see a great article by
> Steve Faulkner on this very subject at
>
http://blog.paciellogroup.com/2011/02/html5-accessibility-chops-the-placeholder-attribute/
>   Now, the big question is, what do you say?  Is color contrast of 4.5
> to 1 required on regular size placeholder text to meet WCAG 2.0 SC
> 1.4.3?
> 
> Proposed Change:
> Whatever you decide, could you add some notes to
> http://www.w3.org/TR/2014/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20140408/G148 so that in the
> future we will have more than just this question/answer to refer to? 
> Merci!


Working Group Resolution (LC-2944):
Thank you for your question.  

The minimum contrast success crition (1.4.3) applies to text in the page,
and placeholder text is text in the page.  If used, placeholder text needs
to provide sufficient contrast in order to avoid a 1.4.3 failure.

We have also added a note to the Understanding 1.4.3 document to this
effect.


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Received on Tuesday, 5 August 2014 15:53:14 UTC