First time visit: View without clicking anything

University of Exeter | A Top Worldwide University

Teachers and Advisers | Teachers and advisers | University of Exeter

Graduation | Graduation | University of Exeter

Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences | Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences | University of Exeter

Prospective Staff | Jobs at the University of Exeter

About us | About us | University of Exeter

Professional Services | Professional services | University of Exeter

Alumni and supporters | Alumni and supporters | University of Exeter

Overview | About us | University of Exeter

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

February 2026

January 2026

University of Exeter

Title / URL	Issues
First time visit: View without clicking anythingwww.exeter.ac.uk/	6
University of Exeter \| A Top Worldwide Universitywww.exeter.ac.uk/	6
Teachers and Advisers \| Teachers and advisers \| University of Exeterwww.exeter.ac.uk/study/teachers/	5
Graduation \| Graduation \| University of Exeterwww.exeter.ac.uk/students/graduation/	4
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences \| Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences \| University of Exeterwww.exeter.ac.uk/faculties/hass/	4
Prospective Staff \| Jobs at the University of Exeterwww.exeter.ac.uk/about/prospective/	3
About us \| About us \| University of Exeterwww.exeter.ac.uk/about/	3
Professional Services \| Professional services \| University of Exeterwww.exeter.ac.uk/departments/professionalservices/	3
Alumni and supporters \| Alumni and supporters \| University of Exeterwww.exeter.ac.uk/alumnisupporters/	3
Overview \| About us \| University of Exeterwww.exeter.ac.uk/about/facts/profile/	3

Ensure form controls have labels

University of Exeter

Where this issue has occurred