ARIA Roles

WAI-ARIA defines roles such as button, navigation, dialog and tab to communicate an interface element’s purpose. Screen readers and other assistive technologies use those semantics to interpret content. The HTML role attribute can supply a role to an element, but it does not create the behavior that a native interactive control provides automatically.

The first principle of ARIA use is to prefer correct native HTML where possible. A real <button> includes expected keyboard behavior; a <div role="button"> still needs focus management and keyboard event handling. Invalid role combinations or missing required states can make a page harder to use. Test actual interaction, not merely whether an automated checker sees a role.

ARIA roles should also be distinguished from live regions, which announce certain updates, and from content management system user roles, which control permissions. Applying more ARIA attributes is not synonymous with greater accessibility; correct semantics, keyboard operation and testing matter.