A side area with a role that understands auxiliary technology: navigation, main content, search, foot area. Read-out programs jump directly to the place.

Do I need to use a specific vocabulary for this?

For input fields, there is the fixed list of autocomplete. There is currently no binding list for other elements; Landmarks and speaking names are the reachable part.

Does this also help people without auxiliary technology?

Yes. Unified names and clear areas make every page faster, even for people with little time or little practice.

This translation has not been editorially reviewed yet. The German version is authoritative. Deutsche Fassung

Accessibility

How do websites make the purpose of symbols and areas machine-readable?

Some people understand symbols better than words, others need it in reverse. Level AAA Criterion 1.3.6 requires that the purpose of controls, icons and page ranges be in the source code so that a utility can replace, simplify or regroup them with known icons. This is based on the landmark roles and the purpose information, which is already used by level AA for input fields (1.3.5).

What the Criterion Requires

Side areas play their role: navigation, main content, search, foot area, supplementary. Fixed purpose controls (home page, search, shopping cart, help) carry a purpose that a program can recognize. Symbols have names that indicate their purpose. For example, a personal utility can display each search with the same icon familiar to the user or reduce a page to the main content.

Why this goes beyond level AA

Level AA requires purpose information only for input fields containing personal data (1.3.5). For all other elements, today there is no complete list of standardized purposes; the WCAG explicitly mentions the criterion as a goal for the future. It can be reached where a website cleans up landmarks, gives names to symbols and uniformly names recurring functions.

This is how we deal with it

The measurement checks landmarks and names of controls in the context of levels A and AA and thus finds the basis of this criterion. Whether the purposes are complete is assessed by a person. The criterion belongs to the category AAA in knowledge.

Examples

Areas and symbols without purpose

Not met

<div class="oben">…</div>
<div class="links">…</div>
<button><svg>…</svg></button>

Passes

<header>…</header>
<nav aria-label="Hauptmenü">…</nav>
<main>…</main>
<button aria-label="Suche öffnen"><svg aria-hidden="true">…</svg></button>

Landmarks and named symbols allow a utility to simplify the page or display it with familiar symbols.

For each page, set the landmarks header area, navigation, main content, search and footer area with the provided elements or roles.
Give each icon button a name that indicates the purpose (“Open search”, not “magnifying glass”).
Name recurring functions on all sides the same: same label, same position.
For input fields with personal data, use the purposes of criterion 1.3.5; they are the basis.

Deutsche Fassung dieser Seite