searchbox-name-present
Searchboxes have an accessible name
Checks that elements with role="searchbox" expose a non-empty accessible name.
Applies to. Applies to elements whose role attribute resolves to searchbox (the attribute is a fallback list: its first known, non-abstract token, in any case, is the role, so role="foo searchbox" counts and role="link searchbox" does not) that are included in the accessibility tree. An element with the matching implicit role but no role attribute is out of scope. A custom element whose ElementInternals give it the role (this.attachInternals().role), with no role attribute naming another, is in scope too: that is its default role, and no other rule checks it.
Expectation. The element has a non-empty accessible name from aria-label, from an aria-labelledby that resolves to non-empty text, or from title. role="searchbox" is name-from-author-only, so subtree text is never accepted: text sitting inside a custom searchbox widget is not reliably exposed as its name. On a labelable element (<input role="searchbox">) an associated <label> counts as well. On a text-like <input> or a <textarea>, the placeholder counts last (HTML-AAM's final name source): a placeholder-only label is a 3.3.2 question, not a missing name. An element named by nothing but aria-placeholder fails: accname gives it no name, and only some browsers name it from aria-placeholder.
Examples
<div role="searchbox" tabindex="0" aria-label="Search the site"></div>
aria-label names the searchbox.
<div role="searchbox" tabindex="0"></div>
No accessible name from any supported mechanism.
How to check
When this rule can’t decide, it reports cantTell and leaves the question to a person. Each question it can ask is listed here under its reason code, with the steps to answer it. A finding carries the same steps as howToCheck, in the scan’s language. See Output schema.
name_internals
- Inspect the search box the report names, a custom element, and note its role.
- Open the Accessibility pane in the browser's developer tools and read the element's accessible name.
- With a screen reader, move to the element and listen to the name announced.
Pass. The accessibility tree shows a name for the search box, set through its internals or otherwise, and the screen reader announces it.
Fail. The search box has no name in the accessibility tree and the screen reader announces only its role, which fails WCAG 4.1.2.