What the standard says
Labels or instructions are provided when content requires user input.
Why it matters
A placeholder disappears the moment someone types. For a person using magnification or with short-term memory difficulty, the field is then unlabelled.
What a failure looks like
- failsPlaceholder used as the only label.
- failsA `<label>` not linked to its input by `for`/`id`.
- failsA date field with no example of the expected format.
How to fix it
- doUse `<label for="…">`, always visible.
- doPut format hints in text near the field and reference them with `aria-describedby`.
- doMark required fields in words, not only with an asterisk.
How A11ySignal checks it
1 automated check runs against this criterion on every scan.
moderateform-field-multiple-labelsForm field must not have multiple label elements