Identify Input Purpose (1.3.5 – Level AA)

‘Identify Input Purpose’ requires the purpose of input fields to be programmatically determinable.

Introduction

All users, but particularly those with cognitive impairments, benefit from programmatically determinable input fields. These allow assistive technologies to understand the purpose of fields and present them in a preferred format to the user.

In addition, users with motor impairments benefit from autocomplete on forms by reducing the need for fine motor movement.

How to Pass ‘Identify Input Purpose’

• Specify the intention of each input field with “input type=”type”

• Use specific autocomplete values to allow the user’s browser to prefill fields where it already has the data
  

‘Identify Input Purpose’ Tips

There’s a full list of input purposes that need to be covered at www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/#input-purposes

Use the most specific label for each field, for example “bday” rather than “date” if you want a user’s date of birth. While the field does want a date, its purpose is to collect the birthday. 

See Also

• Identify Purpose
• Understanding Success Criterion 1.3.5 (W3C)