RE: 1.4.13 Content on Hover

There are a few things to unpack here.


  1.  The guidance you quote is from Example 3 in WCAG technique H65<https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/H65.html>. It’s an unhelpful example because the “title” attribute is actually redundant. The Search button alone is sufficient to label the textbox, as per Example 1 in WCAG technique G167<https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Techniques/general/G167.html>, which is identical except for the absence of the “title” attribute.

  2.  The definition of a label<https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/#dfn-labels> explicitly states that “A label is presented to all users…”. You therefore cannot use the “title” attribute to label a form control.

  3.  The fourth example on the Understanding page for SC 3.3.2<https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/labels-or-instructions.html> uses “title” attributes to label form controls and explicitly describes them as “invisible labels”. This is in direct violation of the definition of a label, so this example should be removed.

  4.  WCAG SC 1.4.13 does not apply to ”title” attributes because it has an exemption if “the visual presentation of the additional content is controlled by the user agent and is not modified by the author”.

  5.  It makes no difference if button had an SVG in it rather than the text "Search", as long as the button has a text alternative. The use of a symbol to label the button (and hence the adjacent textbox) is equally ambiguous to all users. People with disabilities are not disadvantaged more than others.

Steve Green
Managing Director
Test Partners Ltd


From: Michael Livesey <mike.j.livesey@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 3:20 PM
To: WAI Interest Group discussion list <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Subject: 1.4.13 Content on Hover

Hi everyone,

Regarding 1.4.13, we have a form text input search with no label. W3 has recommended adding a title attribute.

However, I am concerned that this will then fail 1.4.13, Content on Hover. Could anyone help please?

Specifically, W3 has this guidance

"A Web page contains a text field where the user can enter search terms and a button labeled "Search" for performing the search. The title attribute is used to identify the form control and the button is positioned right after the text field so that it is clear to the user that the text field is where the search term should be entered."

<input type="text" title="Type search term here"/> <input type="submit" value="Search"/>

Same question, but what if the button had an SVG in it rather than the text "Search"? Or does that make a difference.