The objective of this technique is to provide programmatic indication that a form field (which shown through presentation to be required) is mandatory for successful submission of a form.
-The fact that the element is required is often visually presented (via a text or non-text symbol, or text indicating input is required or color / styling) but this is not programmatically determinable as part of the field's name.
+The objective of this technique is to enhance programmatic indication that a form field (which is shown through presentation to be required) is mandatory for successful submission of a form.
+The fact that the element is required is often visually presented (via a text or non-text symbol, or text indicating input is required or color / styling) but this may not be programmatically determinable as part of the field's name.
The WAI-ARIA aria-required property indicates that user input is required before submission. The aria-required property can have values of true or false. For example, if a user must fill in an address field, then aria-required is set to true.
Use of aria-required="true" might be beneficial even when an asterisk or other text symbol is programmatically associated with the field as it may reinforce its required property for some assistive technology users.
The fact that the element is required is often visually presented (such as a sign or symbol after the control). Using the aria-required property in addition to the visual presentation makes it much easier for user agents to pass on this important information to the user in a user agent-specific manner. Refer to ARIA in HTML for information on how to provide WAI-ARIA States and Properties with HTML. WAI-ARIA States and Properties are compatible with other languages as well; refer to documentation in those languages.
This technique is set as advisory for meeting 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions, because use of aria-required="true" alone, without any visual indicator, would not be perceivable to most users.
However, when an asterisk or other text symbol is associated with the field, using the aria-required property in addition to the visual presentation enables user agents to pass on this important information to the user in a user agent-specific manner. Refer to ARIA in HTML for information on how to provide WAI-ARIA States and Properties with HTML. WAI-ARIA States and Properties are compatible with other languages as well; refer to documentation in those languages.