The “aria-label” attribute must not be specified on any “a” element unless the element has a “role” value other than “caption”, “code”, “deletion”, “emphasis”, “generic”, “insertion”, “paragraph”, “presentation”, “strong”, “subscript”, or “superscript”.

An aria-label attribute on an <a> element is only valid when the link has an accessible role that supports naming — which means the <a> must have an href attribute or an explicit role that accepts a label.

When an <a> element lacks an href attribute, it has the implicit role of generic. The generic role is in the list of roles that do not support naming, so applying aria-label to it is invalid. This is because a generic element has no semantic meaning, and screen readers wouldn’t know how to announce the label in a meaningful way.

The most common cause of this error is using <a> as a placeholder or JavaScript-only trigger without an href. An <a> with an href has the implicit role of link, which does support aria-label, so the error won’t appear.

You have a few ways to fix this:

• Add an href to make it a proper link (most common fix).
• Add an explicit role that supports naming, such as role="button", if the element acts as a button.
• Use a <button> instead if the element triggers an action rather than navigation.
• Remove aria-label if it’s not needed, and use visible text content instead.

HTML Examples

❌ Invalid: aria-label on an <a> without href

<a aria-label="Close menu" onclick="closeMenu()">✕</a>

The <a> has no href, so its implicit role is generic, which does not support naming.

✅ Fix option 1: Add an href

<a href="/close" aria-label="Close menu">✕</a>

✅ Fix option 2: Use a <button> instead

<button aria-label="Close menu" onclick="closeMenu()">✕</button>

✅ Fix option 3: Add an explicit role that supports naming

<a role="button" tabindex="0" aria-label="Close menu" onclick="closeMenu()">✕</a>

Using a <button> (option 2) is generally the best choice for interactive elements that perform actions rather than navigate to a URL.

Learn more:

MDN Reference

MDN Web Docs: ARIA - aria-label

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MDN Reference

MDN Web Docs: HTML anchor element

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MDN Reference

MDN Web Docs: ARIA roles

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