Form control, link, or button without an accessible name

links/name-missing

WCAG success criterion: 4.1.2 (level A)
Outcome class: Automatic. An automated check that can report a confirmed violation.
Area: Accessibility, Technical Robustness
Default severity: high
axe-core rule: control-missing-label

Why we flag this

Screen reader users are not told what input is expected or where a link/button leads.

Form control/link/button without <label>, aria-label, aria-labelledby, or text content.

What the rule checks

Scope. Rendered a elements with href.

Expectation. Fails when the link has no accessible name: no text, an icon hidden from assistive technology, no aria-label, no aria-labelledby, no image alt. Each mechanism names it (aria-labelledby also to hidden text, accname 2B). An a without href is no link. A role=link element without a name is reported as names/required-missing, not under this id. Hidden links are not judged; visually hidden links in the accessibility tree are.

Source. WCAG 2.2 SC 2.4.4, 4.1.2; HTML-AAM a element; accname 1.2

Detection: shared; needs dom, ax_tree.

Failing example

The check reports a violation here. Corpus case empty_link_text. The page may contain further findings for other rules.

empty_link_text.htmlHTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <title>Empty link text corpus case</title>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><style>
  /* #783: page shell, so the case only reports what it is about */
  .skip, nav a { display: inline-block; padding: 12px; min-height: 44px; min-width: 44px; box-sizing: border-box; }
  button, input, select, textarea { min-height: 44px; min-width: 44px; box-sizing: border-box; }
  input[type="checkbox"], input[type="radio"] { width: 44px; height: 44px; }
</style>
</head>
<body>
    <a class="skip" href="#main">Skip to main content</a>
<header><p>Example Shop</p><nav aria-label="Main"><a href="/" aria-current="page">Home</a> <a href="/help">Help</a></nav></header>
<main id="main">
        <h1>Link without text</h1>
        <p>Read more <a href="/details"></a></p>
    </main>
<footer><p>Example Shop, 2026</p></footer>
</body>
</html>

Passing example

The check passes here and reports nothing. Corpus case forms_link_names, element a#ln-aria. The page may contain further findings for other rules.

forms_link_names.htmlHTML

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Links and buttons</title>
<style>
  body { font-family: sans-serif; color: #222; background: #fff; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0 16px; }
  a { color: #0050a0; }
  .skip, nav a, .solo { display: inline-block; padding: 12px; min-height: 44px; min-width: 44px; box-sizing: border-box; }
  button, input, select, textarea, [role="button"], [role="textbox"], [role="radio"], [role="link"], [role="searchbox"] {
    display: inline-block; min-height: 44px; min-width: 44px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1rem; }
  input[type="checkbox"], input[type="radio"] { width: 44px; height: 44px; }
  .visually-hidden { position: absolute; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; clip: rect(0 0 0 0); white-space: nowrap; }
</style>
</head>
<body>
<a class="skip" href="#main">Skip to main content</a>
<header><p>Example Shop</p>
<nav aria-label="Main"><a href="/" aria-current="page">Home</a> <a href="/help">Help</a></nav>
</header>
<main id="main">
<h1>Links and buttons</h1>
<!-- G2 #783: links and buttons with and without an accessible name (4.1.2, 2.4.4), every naming mechanism, link text that does not say where it goes (2.4.4 in context, 2.4.9 on its own), bare URLs, single characters, unannounced new windows (G201) and links used as buttons. -->
<h2>Names</h2>
<p><a class="solo" id="ln-empty" href="/cart"></a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="ln-icon" href="/account"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><circle cx="12" cy="12" r="8" fill="currentColor"/></svg></a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="ln-aria" href="/account" aria-label="Your account"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><circle cx="12" cy="12" r="8" fill="currentColor"/></svg></a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="ln-img-alt" href="/"><img src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' width='44' height='44'%3E%3Crect width='44' height='44' fill='%230050a0'/%3E%3C/svg%3E" alt="Shop home" width="44" height="44"></a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="ln-sr" href="/cart"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><circle cx="12" cy="12" r="8" fill="currentColor"/></svg><span class="visually-hidden">Shopping cart</span></a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="ln-labelledby" href="/wishlist" aria-labelledby="wl-label"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><circle cx="12" cy="12" r="8" fill="currentColor"/></svg></a><span id="wl-label" hidden>Wish list</span></p>
<p><a id="ln-anchor" name="top"></a></p>
<p><span id="ln-aria-role" role="link" tabindex="0" onclick="location.href = '/cart'" onkeydown="if (event.key === 'Enter') location.href = '/cart'"></span></p>
<p><span id="ln-aria-role-named" role="link" tabindex="0" aria-label="Order history" onclick="location.href = '/orders'" onkeydown="if (event.key === 'Enter') location.href = '/orders'"></span></p>
<p><button id="bn-empty" type="button"></button></p>
<p><button id="bn-icon" type="button"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><circle cx="12" cy="12" r="8" fill="currentColor"/></svg></button></p>
<p><span id="bn-aria-empty" role="button" tabindex="0"></span></p>
<p><input id="bn-input-empty" type="button" value=""></p>
<p><button id="bn-aria" type="button" aria-label="Close the banner"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><circle cx="12" cy="12" r="8" fill="currentColor"/></svg></button></p>
<p><button id="bn-text" type="button">Add to cart</button></p>
<p><input id="bn-submit-default" type="submit" form="none-form"></p>
<p><span id="bn-aria-named" role="button" tabindex="0" aria-label="Show sizes"></span></p>

<h2>Link purpose</h2>
<article>
  <h3>Bike lanes extended</h3>
  <p>The city adds twelve kilometres of bike lanes this summer.</p>
  <a class="solo" id="gn-context" href="/news/bike-lanes">Read more</a>
</article>
<p><a class="solo" id="gn-bare" href="/offers">Click here</a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="gn-good" href="/offers">Spring offers for bikes</a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="plo-open" href="/brochure.pdf">Open</a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="gn-aria-label" href="/news/parks" aria-label="Read more about the new parks">Read more</a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="gn-sr" href="/news/trams">Read more<span class="visually-hidden"> about the new trams</span></a></p>
<div><div><ul><li><a class="solo" id="url-bare" href="https://example.org/report-2026">https://example.org/report-2026</a></li></ul></div></div>
<p>Download the annual report at <a id="url-context" href="https://example.org/report">https://example.org/report</a>.</p>
<p><a class="solo" id="sc-x" href="/close-offer">x</a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="sc-two" href="/de">DE</a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="sc-digit" href="/page/2">2</a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="nw-bare" href="https://example.org/partner" target="_blank">Partner programme</a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="nw-told" href="https://example.org/terms" target="_blank">Partner terms (opens in new tab)</a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="nw-aria" href="https://example.org/press" target="_blank" aria-label="Press kit, opens in new window">Press kit</a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="nw-self" href="https://example.org/jobs" target="_self">Jobs at the partner</a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="ub-hash" href="#" onclick="openChat(); return false;">Chat with us</a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="ub-js" href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="ub-role" href="#" role="button" onclick="openChat(); return false;">Open the chat</a></p>
<p><a class="solo" id="ub-real" href="/chat" onclick="track()">Chat page</a></p>
<div id="chat" hidden><p>Chat is offline.</p></div>
</main>
<footer><p>Example Shop, 2026</p></footer>
<script>
  function openChat() { document.getElementById('chat').hidden = false; }
  function track() {}
</script>
</body>
</html>

This page is generated from the rule catalogue and the rule contracts; see therule overview for how the outcome classes are derived.