Ensure all input fields have accessible names

Screen readers announce the accessible name of a focused input before the user types. Without a name, VoiceOver reads 'text field' and NVDA reads 'edit' with no context, making it impossible for blind users to fill out forms correctly. Voice control users (Dragon NaturallySpeaking) also need the visible label text to match the accessible name so they can say 'click Email Address' to move focus to the field.

Quick Reference

• Every <input>, <textarea>, and <select> must have a programmatically associated accessible name
• Preferred: associate a <label> via matching for/id attributes
• Alternatives: aria-label (inline string) or aria-labelledby (references another element's id)
• Placeholder text is not an accessible name — it disappears on input and is not reliably announced
• Applies to WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and SC 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value)

Check

Find all <input> (excluding type='hidden'), <textarea>, and <select> elements. For each, check that one of these is true: (1) a <label> element with a for attribute matching the input's id exists, (2) the input has a non-empty aria-label attribute, or (3) the input has an aria-labelledby attribute pointing to a visible element. Flag any that use only placeholder as their label. Also check custom widgets using role=textbox, role=combobox, etc.

Fix

For each unlabeled input: (1) Add a <label for='input-id'>Label text</label> and matching id on the input — this is the most robust method. (2) If a visible label is impractical (e.g., search bar), add aria-label='Search' directly on the input. (3) If the label text already exists elsewhere in the DOM, add aria-labelledby='label-element-id' to the input. Remove placeholder as a substitute for a label; keep placeholder only as a hint for expected format.