Are there multiple ways to build an accessible widget?

The W3C ARIA Authoring Practices Guide provides helpful considerations and examples for different types of interactive widgets, but it is not definitive. If you must build a custom solution instead of using a native HTML element, then tweaking the patterns found in the guide, or even building a different solution, can still lead to a great and accessible experience for your users.

Use the guide to help identify important considerations as you build different types of interactive widgets, such as managing keyboard navigation, applying descriptive accessible names, and correctly communicating roles, properties, and states.

And remember, documents like the authoring practices guide can only get you so far. One of the most important steps is to test your widget with real users with disabilities. Even a widget that perfectly matches an example in the authoring practices guide will likely have room for improvement in your real-world scenario.

To learn more about working with Accessible Web’s team of UX testers, visit the Web Accessibility Usability & UX Testing page.