Academics | Worcester Polytechnic Institute

The Student Experience | Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Research | Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Faculty | Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Areas of Research | Worcester Polytechnic Institute

WPI Graduate & Professional Studies | Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Alumni | Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Admissions & Aid | Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Give to WPI | Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Innovation & Entrepreneurship | Worcester Polytechnic Institute

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

May 2025

April 2025

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Title / URL	Issues
Academics \| Worcester Polytechnic Institutewww.wpi.edu/academics	10
The Student Experience \| Worcester Polytechnic Institutewww.wpi.edu/student-experience	6
Research \| Worcester Polytechnic Institutewww.wpi.edu/research	5
Faculty \| Worcester Polytechnic Institutewww.wpi.edu/academics/faculty	4
Areas of Research \| Worcester Polytechnic Institutewww.wpi.edu/research/areas	4
WPI Graduate & Professional Studies \| Worcester Polytechnic Institutewww.wpi.edu/academics/graduate	4
Alumni \| Worcester Polytechnic Institutewww.wpi.edu/alumni	3
Admissions & Aid \| Worcester Polytechnic Institutewww.wpi.edu/admissions	3
Give to WPI \| Worcester Polytechnic Institutewww.wpi.edu/give	3
Innovation & Entrepreneurship \| Worcester Polytechnic Institutewww.wpi.edu/about/ie	2

Ensure form controls have labels

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Where this issue has occurred