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Re: Placeholder

for

From: John Foliot
Date: Mar 11, 2019 1:47PM

Hi Elena,

There are a number of concerns here.

1) The HTML 5 specification specifically states:


Use of the placeholder attribute as a replacement for a label can reduce
the accessibility and usability of the control for a range of users
including older users and users with cognitive, mobility, fine motor skill
or vision impairments. While the hint given by the control's label is shown
at all times, the short hint given in the placeholder attribute is only
shown before the user enters a value. Furthermore, placeholder text may be
mistaken for a pre-filled value, and as commonly implemented the default
color of the placeholder text provides insufficient contrast and the lack
of a separate visible label reduces the size of the hit region available
for setting focus on the control.

2) WCAG 2.0 (and 2.1) is silent on the use of @placeholder, because when
WCAG 2.0 was written, @placeholder didn't exist. Any claim that
using @placeholder is "WCAG Compliant" needs to have a reference-able
source - which I don't think anyone can produce.

...and so, politely, your development team is likely incorrect.

We're starting to see a "hybrid" solution that delivers on the 'design'
requirements, while still maintaining the accessibility needs. A common
example of that pattern can be found when logging into GMail, where the
placeholder text "shrinks" up into the top-left corner (top-right in the
context of Hebrew content?), there by "moving out of the way" but
none-the-less remaining persistent on the page.

Would something like that meet your internal needs?

JF

On Mon, Mar 11, 2019 at 12:00 PM Eilana Benish < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
wrote:

> hello, my name is Eilana from Israel. Currently, I work with organizations
> required to make their websites accessible in Israel.
>
> We are working on developing a new website.
>
> We have a very serious disagreement about the place-holder as a method to
> label forms fields.
>
> I know that the popular screen reader reads the place holder. But this is
> mey not be accessible to users with cognitive disabilities.
>
> The development team thought otherwise and implemented the place holder.
> When I told them to change to standard labels – I got the answer that using
> the Placeholder is WCAG 2 compliant.
>
> I have also tried to find information on the W3C accessibility resources –
> Without success.
>
> So, is the place holder WCAG 2 compliant
>
> And what the WCAG 2 working group has to say about that topic?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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--
*​John Foliot* | Principal Accessibility Strategist | W3C AC Representative
Deque Systems - Accessibility for Good
deque.com