To ARIA! The Cause of, and Solution to, All Our Accessibility Problems
When WebAIM evaluates a client’s website for accessibility, we often spend more time evaluating and reporting on ARIA use than any other issue. Almost every report we write includes a section cautioning against ARIA abuse and outlining ARIA uses that need to be corrected or, most often, removed. Ironically, this is often followed by a list of issues that can only be addressed with ARIA.
Like many adults who were teenagers in the ’90s, I can think of a Simpsons quote to fit just about any situation. In one popular episode, Homer holds up a mug of beer and proposes a toast "To alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems." With just a bit of tweaking, this quote represents my feelings about ARIA.
Every ARIA role, state, or property can enhance accessibility when used correctly, and vice versa. However, after looking at hundreds of real-world ARIA uses and abuses, it is clear that some ARIA attributes are typically used in ways that cause more problems than [...]