a[href] element role semantics. (Deprecated)

Rule ID Role 12
Definition a[href] elements must only have role values of link (default), button, checkbox, menuitem, menuitemcheckbox, menuitemradio, tab, switch or treeitem. NOTE: Deprecated in favor of HTML 3 a more general rule on role restrictions based on ARIA in HTML specification.
Purpose
  • The a[href] has a default role of link and the browser natively supports the behavior of being part of the tab order of the page (e.g. tabindex=0) and will repsond to click events and the enter key.
  • When a[href] elements only need to use the role attribute when they are part of interactive widgets and are restricted to subset of widget roles: button, checkbox, menuitem, menuitemcheckbox, menuitemradio, tab, switch or treeitem.
Required No for HTML5 and ARIA Techniques ruleset mapping
WCAG Success Criteria

4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A, Primary Success Criterion)

Rule Category Links
Scope Element
Target Resources a[href] elements
  • a
Techniques
  • The a[href] element's default role of link can only be overridden with following roles: button, checkbox, menuitem, menuitemcheckbox, menuitemradio, tab, switch or treeitem.
Informational Links