HTML Guide

A label element is not allowed as a descendant of a button element.

The label element represents a caption in a user interface. The caption can be associated with a specific form control, known as the label element’s labeled control, either using the for attribute, or by putting the form control inside the label element itself.

The label element may contain only one labelable descendant.

For example:

<label for="age">
  Age
  <select id="age">
    <option>young</option>
    <option>old</option>
  </select>
</label>

When nesting an input element inside a label that has a for attribute, the id attribute of the input is required to match it.

The label element represents a caption in a user interface. The caption can be associated with a specific form control, known as the label element’s labeled control, either using the for attribute, or by putting the form control inside the label element itself.

When the input is inside the label, there’s no need to specify a for attribute as there can only be one input, as in this example:

<label>
  Age
  <input type="text" name="age">
</label>

However, if the for attribute is specified, then it must match the id of the input like this:

<label for="user_age">
  Age
  <input type="text" name="age" id="user_age">
</label>

When nesting a select element inside a label that has a for attribute, the id attribute of the select is required to match it.

The label element represents a caption in a user interface. The caption can be associated with a specific form control, known as the label element’s labeled control, either using the for attribute, or by putting the form control inside the label element itself.

When the select is inside the label, there’s no need to specify a for attribute as there can only be one select, as in this example:

<label>
  Age
  <select>
    <option>young</option>
    <option>old</option>
  </select>
</label>

However, if the for attribute is specified, then it must match the id of the select like this:

<label for="age">
  Age
  <select id="age">
    <option>young</option>
    <option>old</option>
  </select>
</label>

The aria-activedescendant attribute on the input element must reference a non-empty, valid ID of an existing element.

The aria-activedescendant attribute is used in accessible widgets to indicate which element is currently active or selected within a composite widget, such as a listbox or autocomplete dropdown. Its value should be the id of an element within the DOM.

The attribute value must not be an empty string and must match the id of an existing element. Using an empty string ("") is invalid and triggers the W3C validator error.

Correct usage:

• Reference a valid, non-empty element id as the value.
• Remove the attribute if no element is currently active.

Example: Incorrect usage (invalid)

<input type="text" aria-activedescendant="" />

Example: Correct usage with a referenced ID

<ul id="suggestions">
  <li id="option1">Option 1</li>
  <li id="option2">Option 2</li>
</ul>
<input type="text" aria-activedescendant="option1" />

To eliminate errors, do not set aria-activedescendant to an empty string. Only include the attribute when it references a valid element’s id.

The for attribute on a label element can’t be an empty string. This attribute is intended to specify which form element a label is associated with, and it must reference the ID of an existing form element. An empty string is neither a valid ID nor a meaningful association.

Explanation

• Invalid HTML: <label for=""></label>

The for attribute expects the value to be the ID of a form element, such as an input, textarea, select, etc.

How to Fix

1. Identify the Form Element: Find the form element (input, textarea, select, etc.) that the label is supposed to be associated with.
2. Assign an ID to the Form Element: Ensure the form element has a unique ID.
3. Modify the Label’s for Attribute: Set the for attribute of the label to match the ID of the form element.

Example

Before Fix

<form>
    <label for="">Username:</label>
    <input type="text" name="username">
</form>

After Fix

<form>
    <label for="username">Username:</label>
    <input type="text" id="username" name="username">
</form>

The <label> element represents a caption in a document, and it can be associated with a form input using the for attribute, which must be an ID. Document IDs cannot contain whitespace.

Example:

<form>
  <label for="user_name">Name</label>
  <input type="text" id="user_name" />
</form>

Drop-down lists can be defined in HTML by using the <select> tag, containing the different <option>s. Each <option> must have a name, which can be either contained between <option> and </option>, or alternatively using the label attribute.

Example:

<select name="size">
  <option value="s">small</option>
  <option value="m" label="medium"></option>
</select>

A <label> tag can’t be used inside an <a> tag. Consider using other tags like <span>.

A <label> element cannot contain other <label> as a descendant. Check for nested elements or closing tags that may have been misinterpreted, for example:

<label>name</label></label>