Proposed ROLE values to support WCAG 2.0 validation and AT user interface enhancements

I would like to propose the following ARIA roles to help identify key features of a web page related to WCAG 2.0 success criteria.

The roles can be used by web accessibility evaluation tools to validate conformance and can help ATs identify certain types of information on a web page for meeting certain WCAG 2.0 requirements and improving the user experience of identify WCAG 2.0 required features.

Jon


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ROLE=”MEDIA-ALTERNATIVE”

Marks a block of text as being a  media alternative for video or audio content.

Related to WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria
1.2.1
1.2.2
1.2.3

Example:

<audio aria-describedby=”id1”>

<div id=”id1” role=”media-alternative”>
<h2>Text Transcript</h2>

…..

</div>

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ROLE=”INSTRUCTIONS”

Marks a block of text as being instructions for a form control or widget.

Related to WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria
3.3.2

Example:

<textarea aria-describedby=”id2”>

<div id=”id2” role=”instructions”>
<h2>Instructions</h2>

…..

</div>

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ROLE=”ERROR”

Marks a block of text as being error information for a form control or widget.

Related to WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria
3.3.1
3.3.3
3.3.4

Example:

<input type=”date” aria-describedby=”id3”>

<div role=”alert”>
<span id=”id3” role=”error”>Invalid date, use YYYY-MM-DD format<span>
</div>