Overview

ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) is a technical specification published by the W3C. It provides a way to add descriptive metadata to HTML elements, helping assistive technologies (like screen readers) understand the purpose and state of complex UI components.

Key Concepts

  • Roles: Define what an element is (e.g., role="button", role="navigation").
  • States: Define the current condition of an element (e.g., aria-expanded="true").
  • Properties: Define characteristics of an element (e.g., aria-label="Close menu").

Rule of Thumb

'No ARIA is better than bad ARIA.' Always prefer native semantic HTML elements over ARIA attributes whenever possible.

Related Terms