Form labels

What it is

A label is the human-readable name of a form control. It must be associated with the control in the accessibility tree so that assistive technologies announce it, click targets are extended to the label text, and voice-control users can say the field’s name to focus it.

Why it matters

An input without a label is a black box. A screen-reader user hears “edit, blank”; a voice-control user has nothing to say to reach it; a sighted user with a cognitive impairment can lose track of which field they are in when the placeholder disappears on focus. WCAG 3.3.2 (Level A) requires labels or instructions; 1.3.1 (Level A) requires that the relationship between label and field be programmatically determinable.

How to implement

Prefer a visible <label> element associated by for/id:

<label for="email">Email address</label>
<input type="email" id="email" name="email" autocomplete="email">

Wrapping the input inside the label works too:

<label>
  Email address
  <input type="email" name="email" autocomplete="email">
</label>

When the visual design genuinely cannot show a label (an icon-only search field, for example), use aria-label or aria-labelledby — but only as a last resort:

<input type="search" aria-label="Search the site">

A few hard rules:

• Placeholder is not a label. It disappears on focus, has poor contrast by default, and is invisible to many assistive tools.
• Every checkbox and radio button needs its own label, and the group needs a name from <fieldset>/<legend> or role="group" with aria-labelledby.
• Required fields should say so in the label (or in instructions), not only with an asterisk and colour.
• Hidden labels (.visually-hidden) are acceptable; display: none strips them from the accessibility tree.

Common mistakes

• <input placeholder="Email"> with no <label>.
• A label that sits next to the input but is not associated with it.
• An icon-only button with no aria-label.
• Reusing the same id for several inputs, so for points at the wrong one.
• A <legend> that names the form section but no labels on the individual radio buttons.

Verification

• Tab through the form with a screen reader. Each control must announce a meaningful name.
• Inspect each input in the browser’s accessibility panel — the “Name” must be set.
• Run an automated checker; “Missing Form Label” is a standard rule.

Related topics

• Accessible form errors
• ARIA — first rule of ARIA

Sources & further reading

• WCAG 3.3.2 — Labels or Instructions (Level A) — W3C
• WCAG 1.3.1 — Info and Relationships (Level A) — W3C
• Accessibility Checker — Missing Form Label — Equalize Digital
• WP Accessibility — Web Forms — WP Accessibility