Labelling forms, images and links Screen reader compatibility

Accessibility

Nov 26, 2024

Screen reader compatibility test results for labelling, showing how failures and techniques work in different screen reader / browser combinations.

The results include two types of test:

Expected to work - these tests show support when accessibility features are used correctly
Expected to fail - these tests show what happens when accessibility features are used incorrectly

Reliability by user agent

The solid area in the graph shows percentage of tests that pass in all tested interaction modes. The cross hatched area shows partial passes that only work in some interaction modes.

An example of a partial pass is when form labels are read when tabbing, but ignored in browse mode.

Combo	Versions	Reliability	Test Changes
JAWS Chrome	JAWS 2024.2409.2 with Chrome 131	98%
JAWS Edge	JAWS 2024.2409.2 with Edge 131	98%
JAWS Firefox	JAWS 2024.2409.2 with FF 128	94%	10 better
JAWS IE	JAWS 2019.1912.1 with IE11	94%	11 better
NVDA Chrome	NVDA 2024.4 with Chrome 131	94%	1 worse
NVDA Edge	NVDA 2024.4 with Edge 131	98%
NVDA Firefox	NVDA 2024.4 with FF 128	98%	10 better
NVDA IE	NVDA 2019.2 with IE11	55%	3 better
VoiceOver Mac	VoiceOver macOS 14.6 with Safari 17.6	91%	7 better
VoiceOver iOS	VoiceOver iOS 17.7 with Safari iOS 17.7	83%	2 better
WindowEyes IE	WindowEyes 9.2 with IE11	88%	11 better
Dolphin IE	Dolphin SR 15.05 with IE11	68%
SaToGo IE	SaToGo 3.4.96.0 with IE11	42%
Average	Including older versions	89%

The average includes all versions, but some browser/AT combinations have tests for multiple versions (NVDA / JAWS / VoiceOver), while others only have tests for a single version (SaToGo and Dolphin).

Reliability trend

Works as expected

These tests use conformant HTML or WCAG sufficient techniques, and work in all tested browser / screen reader combinations.

Screen Reader		NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser		Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
	Link containing `img` with `alt`
	Link containing `img` with `title`
	`button` with `title` containing `img` with null `alt`
	`img` with `alt`
	`img` with `title`
	`img` with null `alt`
	`input type=image` with `alt`
	`input type=text` inside `label` with text before control
	`input type=text` with `aria-labelledby` attribute
	`input type=text` with `label for`

Expected to work

These tests use conformant HTML or WCAG sufficient techniques and might be expected to work in screen readers. This doesn't always happen.

Screen Reader		NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser		Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
	Click Here link with `aria-describedby` attribute
	Click Here link with `title` attribute
	Interactive `iframe` with `role=presentation` and `aria-label` attribute
	Interactive `iframe` with `role=presentation` and `title` attribute
	Interactive `iframe` with `role=presentation` and no accessible name
	Link text replaced by `aria-label` attribute
	Link text replaced by `aria-labelledby` attribute
	Yes/No radio buttons inside `fieldset` element
	`abbr` with `title`
	`area` and `img` with `alt` attributes
	`area` with `alt` attribute and `img` with null `alt`
	`area` with `aria-label` attribute
	`area` with `aria-labelledby` attribute
	`area` with `title` attribute
	`button` containing `img` with `alt`
	`button` containing `img` with `aria-label`
	`button` containing `img` with `aria-labelledby`
	`button` containing `img` with `title` attribute
	`button` with `aria-label` containing `img` with null `alt`
	`fieldset` containing links
	`iframe` with `title` attribute
	`iframe` with fallback content
	`img` with `aria-label`
	`img` with `aria-labelledby`
	`img` with `figcaption`
	`input type=image` with `aria-label` attribute
	`input type=image` with `aria-labelledby` attribute
	`input type=image` with `title` attribute
	`input type=text` inside `label` with text after control
	`input type=text` inside `label` with text before and after control
	`input type=text` with `aria-describedby` attribute
	`input type=text` with `aria-label` attribute
	`input type=text` with `title` attribute

Expected to fail

These tests use non-conformant HTML or WCAG failures and are expected to fail in screen readers.

Screen Reader		NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser		Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
	Image `map` with no `name` attribute
	Interactive `iframe` with `role=presentation` and negative `tabindex` and no accessible name
	Interactive `iframe` with negative `tabindex` and no accessible name
	Link containing `img` with null `alt`
	Link containing `img` without `alt`
	Link with `aria-label` containing `img` with no `alt`
	Link with `aria-labelledby` containing `img` with no `alt`
	Link with `title` containing `img` with no `alt`
	Yes/No radio buttons without `fieldset`
	`acronym` with `title`
	`area` with no `alt`
	`area` with null `alt`
	`button` containing `img` with no `alt`
	`button` containing `img` with null `alt`
	`button` with `aria-label` containing `img` with no `alt`
	`button` with `title` containing `img` with no `alt`
	`fieldset` containing no controls
	`fieldset` used to put border round text
	`fieldset` with blank `legend`
	`fieldset` with no `legend`
	`iframe` where `src` is a PNG image
	`iframe` with `title` matching frame filename
	`iframe` with blank `title`
	`iframe` with no fallback content and no `title`
	`img` with `alt` set to ASCII art smiley
	`img` with `alt` set to `src` filename
	`img` with `aria-describedby`
	`img` with null `alt` and non-null `title` attributes
	`img` with null `alt` and non-null `aria-label` attributes
	`img` with null `alt` and non-null `aria-labelledby` attributes
	`img` with server side image map
	`img` without `alt`
	`input type=image` with no `alt`
	`input type=image` with null `alt`
	`input type=text` inside blank `label`
	`input type=text` with blank `label for`
	`input` with `aria-labelledby` pointing to `role=presentation` element
	`label` elements reference controls with duplicate ids

Key

Stable - works, or doesn't cause problems, in all versions of a specific combination of screen reader and browser
Better - works, or doesn't cause problems, in the most recent version of a specific combination of screen reader and browser (improvement)
Worse - causes problems in the most recent version of a specific combination of screen reader and browser, but used to work in older versions (regression)
Broken - causes problems in all versions of a specific combination of screen reader and browser

Test notes

All tests were carried out with screen reader factory settings. JAWS in particular has a wide variety of settings controlling exactly what gets spoken.

Screen readers allow users to interact in different modes, and can produce very different results in each mode. The modes used in these tests are:

Reading Content read using the “read next” command in a screen reader
Tabbing Content read using the “tab” key in a screen reader
Heading Content read using the “next heading” key in a screen reader
Touch Content read when touching an area of screen on a mobile device

In the “What the user hears” column:

Commas represent short pauses in screen reader voicing
Full Stops represent places where voicing stops, and the “read next” or “tab” or “next heading” command is pressed again
Ellipsis … represent a long pause in voicing
(Brackets) represent voicing that requires a keystroke to hear