Why WAI-ARIA?

And when to use it?

WAI-ARIA was created to add additional information for screen reader users which are necessary to describe complex widgets.

It helps screen reader users know

• If a link opens a popup window
• If an object is expandable
• If an object is currently expanded or collapsed
• If something has changed or been updated on the page
• What type of object or widget it is
  • eg. a tab panel, a tab, a slider, an alert dialog, ...