Not everyone uses a mouse to explore a website. Good HTML must also make sense through a keyboard or screen reader.
What You Need to Know
A checkbox represents a chosen or unchosen option. A switch can represent an immediate on/off setting, but its role and state need correct behavior. Do not use role=switch merely for a fashionable appearance.
Try the Example
Take a look at the example. We’ll explain the important lines right below it.
<fieldset>
<legend>Choose the topics you like</legend>
<label><input type="checkbox" name="topic" value="html"> HTML</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" name="topic" value="css"> CSS</label>
</fieldset>Let’s Read the Code
- <fieldset>: The fieldset keeps related choices together.
- <legend>: The legend names a fieldset question.
- type: Type changes what sort of control or resource the browser uses.
- name: The name is the key used for the submitted value.
Read the named elements and attributes together. They explain how the browser connects this feature to the rest of the page.
What Happens in the Browser?
Try this with Tab and Shift+Tab. If you can, inspect the accessibility tree too; appearance alone does not tell the whole story.
Try a different way of reading. Read only the headings and labels, or navigate through links without looking at the rest of the page. If the page still makes sense, the underlying HTML is probably doing an important part of its job.
Your Turn
Use Tab and Shift+Tab to visit the controls, then read their labels aloud. Is the purpose of each one clear?
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Judging the page only by how it looks, without checking its meaning and keyboard behavior.
- Check the same result using both the browser and a keyboard, not only by looking at the screen.
Key Takeaways
- A checkbox represents a chosen or unchosen option.
- <fieldset>: The fieldset keeps related choices together.
- Test the behavior you expect rather than trusting how the snippet looks in your editor.