ARIA
A set of HTML attributes that describe roles and states to assistive technology when semantic HTML alone isn't enough.
Reviewed by the RadarTrek editorial team · June 2026
ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) attributes tell screen readers and other assistive technology what a custom widget is and what state it's in — e.g. `aria-expanded` on a dropdown, or `role="dialog"` on a modal — for cases plain HTML elements can't express on their own. The first rule of ARIA is to use it as little as possible: a native `<button>` is always more robust than a `<div>` with `role="button"` bolted on.
Why it matters
- —Semantic HTML (`<button>`, `<nav>`, `<dialog>`) gets you correct accessibility behaviour for free — ARIA is the fallback, not the first choice.
- —Incorrect ARIA is worse than no ARIA — it can tell assistive technology something false about the element's state.
- —Custom interactive widgets (custom dropdowns, tabs, modals) are almost always where ARIA actually earns its place.
Where to learn this
ARIA — When HTML Isn't Enough
Accessibility for Developers course
This is the exact lesson that covers this term in depth — with examples, diagrams, and a hands-on exercise.