WAI-ARIA Overview

Introduction

WAI-ARIA, the Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite, defines a way to make web content and web applications more accessible to people with disabilities. It especially helps with dynamic content and advanced user interface controls developed with HTML, JavaScript, and related technologies.

Without WAI-ARIA, certain functionality used on websites is not available to some users with disabilities — especially people who rely on screen readers and people who cannot use a mouse. WAI-ARIA addresses these accessibility challenges, for example, by defining ways for functionality to be provided to assistive technology. With WAI-ARIA, developers can make advanced web applications accessible and usable to people with disabilities.

This page describes the problems that WAI-ARIA addresses, and introduces the WAI-ARIA suite of technical documents. For more information on the terms used on this page — including web content, user agents, and assistive technology — see Introduction to Web Accessibility and