Tooltip (UI)

A tooltip is a brief, noninteractive piece of help text associated with a user-interface element, commonly shown when its trigger receives keyboard focus or a pointer hovers over it. For example, a booking form may explain what “service frequency” means. Accessible tooltip behavior should not depend on mouse hover alone: a keyboard user needs a way to expose the information, and Escape should dismiss it without moving focus away from the trigger. In the WAI-ARIA tooltip pattern, the trigger can refer to the tooltip through aria-describedby, and keyboard focus remains on the triggering element; interactive buttons or links belong in a different pattern, such as a non-modal dialog. W3C notes that this particular ARIA Authoring Practices tooltip pattern remains work in progress, so implementation should also consider the applicable WCAG requirements and touch interaction. Important policies, prices, required form instructions, and error messages should not exist only inside a tooltip; persistent help text is often clearer. Tooltips clarify a control rather than replace an accessible label.