How to fix aria required attr on Webflow
Add all required ARIA attributes (such as aria-expanded and aria-controls) to every interactive element that uses an ARIA role, so assistive technologies can communicate widget state to users.
Steps for Webflow
- Open your project in the Webflow Designer and select the element that triggers the widget (e.g. the button or link that opens a dropdown or accordion panel).
- In the right-hand Element Settings panel (the gear icon), scroll to the Custom Attributes section and click the '+' button.
- Add the attribute name aria-expanded and set its value to false (or true if the widget starts open).
- Add a second custom attribute: aria-controls with the value set to the HTML ID of the panel it controls (set that ID on the target element via its Element Settings as well).
- Open the Interactions panel and, within your existing open/close interaction, add a 'Set Attribute' action that changes aria-expanded to 'true' on open and 'false' on close.
- Publish the site and verify with the axe DevTools browser extension.
What is aria required attr?
ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles tell screen readers and other assistive technologies what kind of widget an element is — for example, a button that opens a dropdown, a tab panel, or an accordion. Each ARIA role has a defined set of required attributes that must also be present for the widget to make sense. For instance, a button that expands a menu must include `aria-expanded` (so the screen reader can announce "expanded" or "collapsed") and typically `aria-controls` (so it points to the element it controls). When those required attributes are missing, the role declaration is incomplete and the assistive technology cannot convey the correct state or relationship to the user.
Screen reader users — who often navigate by keyboard only — rely entirely on ARIA state attributes to know whether a menu is open, a tab is selected, or an accordion panel is visible. Without `aria-expanded`, a screen reader user has no way to know whether a dropdown they just activated is open or closed. Without `aria-controls`, they may not find the content that just appeared. This directly breaks the shopping experience for blind and low-vision customers. WCAG 2.x Success Criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) is a Level AA requirement, meaning it is referenced in most accessibility laws worldwide (ADA, Section 508, EN 301 549, AODA). Failing it exposes your store to legal complaints and demand letters. It also signals to Google's quality systems that the site has usability issues, which can indirectly affect organic rankings.
See the complete Aria required attr guide for every platform and the full background.
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