How to fix aria required parent on Adobe Commerce (Magento)
Wrap every ARIA child role (such as `tab`, `option`, `listitem`, `row`, etc.) in the correct required ARIA parent container role (such as `tablist`, `listbox`, `list`, `rowgroup`, or `grid`) so assistive technologies can correctly interpret the widget's structure.
Steps for Adobe Commerce (Magento)
- SSH into your server (or use your hosting file manager) and locate the PHTML template responsible for the widget — e.g., `app/design/frontend/<Vendor>/<theme>/Magento_Catalog/templates/product/view/details.phtml` for product tabs.
- Create a theme override if one doesn't exist by copying the core template into your custom theme directory.
- In the template, locate the elements with child ARIA roles (e.g., `role="tab"`) and wrap them in a container with `role="tablist"`.
- If the widget is rendered by a JavaScript UI component (Knockout.js/RequireJS), update the relevant `.html` knockout template under `web/template/` in your module.
- Run `bin/magento cache:flush` and `bin/magento setup:static-content:deploy`, then test the live page with Chrome Accessibility Inspector.
<div role="tablist" aria-label="Product details">
<button role="tab" aria-selected="true" aria-controls="panel-desc">Description</button>
<button role="tab" aria-selected="false" aria-controls="panel-reviews">Reviews</button>
</div>
<div id="panel-desc" role="tabpanel">…</div>
<div id="panel-reviews" role="tabpanel" hidden>…</div>What is aria required parent?
ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) is a set of HTML attributes that tell screen readers and other assistive technologies what a piece of content *is* and how it *behaves*. Many ARIA roles only make sense inside a specific parent container — for example, a `tab` must live inside a `tablist`, an `option` must live inside a `listbox`, and a `row` must live inside a `grid` or `rowgroup`. When that required parent wrapper is missing, the relationship between elements is broken at the code level. The WCAG 1.3.1 success criterion ("Info and Relationships") requires that structure and relationships conveyed visually are also conveyed in the code so assistive technologies can read them correctly.
Screen reader users — people who are blind or have low vision — rely entirely on the ARIA role hierarchy to understand interactive widgets like tabs, dropdowns, and tables. A missing parent role means a screen reader may announce each child element as an isolated, meaningless item with no context, making navigation confusing or impossible. Beyond the user experience impact, WCAG 1.3.1 is a Level A requirement (the minimum baseline), so failing it puts your store at risk of accessibility complaints or legal action under laws like the ADA (USA), EN 301 549 (EU), and the EAA (European Accessibility Act, mandatory from 2025). Fixing this also improves structured-data parsing, which can indirectly help search engine bots better interpret dynamic widgets on your pages.
See the complete Aria required parent guide for every platform and the full background.
Not sure if your Adobe Commerce (Magento) store has this?
Run a free SEOLZ audit — we’ll find aria required parent and every other issue across your whole site.
Scan my site free