The objective of this technique is to use the label element to explicitly associate a form control with a label. A label is attached to a specific form control through the use of the for attribute. The value of the for attribute must be the same as the value of the id attribute of the form control.
The id attribute may have the same value as the name attribute, but both must be provided, and the id must be unique in the web page.
This technique is sufficient for Success Criteria 1.1.1 (Non-Text Content), 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) whether or not the label element is visible. That is, it may be hidden using CSS. However, for Success Criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions), the label element must be visible since it provides assistance to all users who need help understanding the purpose of the field.
An additional benefit of this technique is a larger clickable area for the control, since clicking on the label or the control will activate the control. This can be helpful for users with impaired motor control.
+An additional benefit of this technique is a larger clickable area for the control, since clicking on either the label or the control will activate the control. This can be helpful for users with impaired motor control.
Note that the label is positioned after input elements of type="checkbox" and type="radio".
Elements that use explicitly associated labels are: