How to fix aria required parent on Squarespace

Steps for Squarespace

1. In Squarespace, go to Pages → select the page → click Edit, then click the block containing the flagged widget.
2. If the widget is a native Squarespace block (e.g., Accordion, Tab block), you cannot directly edit its ARIA structure — report the issue to Squarespace Support.
3. If using a Code Block (Insert → Code), edit the raw HTML directly in that block to add the required container role, e.g., wrap `role="tab"` elements in `<div role="tablist">`.
4. For custom CSS/JS injected via Settings → Advanced → Code Injection, add a JavaScript snippet that programmatically sets the `role` attribute on the parent container after DOM load.
5. Preview the page and test with an axe browser extension to confirm the fix.

<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.