ARIA
Also known as: WAI-ARIA, Accessible Rich Internet Applications
ARIA is a set of extra HTML attributes that tell screen readers what a custom component is and does when plain HTML can't say it on its own.
In plain terms
When you build something HTML doesn't have a tag for — a custom dropdown, a tab panel, a live-updating status — ARIA lets you add a role ("this is a tab"), a state ("it's selected") and properties so assistive tech understands it. The golden rule: use real HTML elements first, and only reach for ARIA when there's no native option.
Why it matters
Used well, ARIA makes complex widgets usable. Used badly, it makes things worse — "no ARIA is better than bad ARIA". Wrong roles or states that never update leave screen-reader users more confused than if you'd done nothing.
A star-rating widget built from <div>s uses role="radiogroup" and aria-checked so a screen reader announces "3 of 5 stars, selected".
Related terms
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