Student Life | Aston University

Latest News | Aston University

Study | Aston University

Our History | Aston University

About | Aston University

Homepage | Aston University

Library | Aston University

REF | Aston University

2030 Strategy | Aston University

Courses | Aston University

People using screen readers are not able to see the layout of a form. To make forms
accessible, they must define explicit text labels for each form control. 

Usually the best solution is to use a `<label>` element. The label may be linked to 
by the form control:

```html
<label for="name">Full name</label>
<input type="name" id="name">
```

or the `<label>` can be wrapped around the form control:

```html
<label>
    Full name <input type="name">
</label>
```

Buttons are different, as their labels are specified by the code for the button, e.g.

```html
<input type="submit" value="Send message">
<button>Send message</button>
```

Alternatively ARIA attributes, such as `aria-label` may be used, but this information
will not be conveyed to visual users. For more information, see [W3C's guide to labeling controls](https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/forms/labels/).

Hidden input fields (`<input type="hidden">`) do not require labels.
Note that the `placeholder` attribute 
[should not be used as an alternative to a label](https://www.w3.org/TR/html/sec-forms.html#the-placeholder-attribute),
nor should the `title` attribute.

## Custom roles

Note that this check considers the underlying accessible role of an element, which can be 
different from the tag itself.

For example, this `<div>` has a `role` of `button`, and so is expected to have a label, like
a button would.

```html
<div role="button"></div>
```

form-control-labels

August 2025

July 2025

Aston University

	Title / URL	Issues
	Student Life \| Aston Universitywww.aston.ac.uk/student-life	1
	Latest News \| Aston Universitywww.aston.ac.uk/latest-news	1
	Study \| Aston Universitywww.aston.ac.uk/study	1
	Our History \| Aston Universitywww.aston.ac.uk/about/history	1
	About \| Aston Universitywww.aston.ac.uk/about	1
	Homepage \| Aston Universitywww.aston.ac.uk/	1
	Library \| Aston Universitywww.aston.ac.uk/library	1
	REF \| Aston Universitywww.aston.ac.uk/research/ref	1
	2030 Strategy \| Aston Universitywww.aston.ac.uk/2030-strategy	1
	Courses \| Aston Universitywww.aston.ac.uk/courses	1

Ensure form controls have labels

Aston University

Where this issue has occurred