Title Attributes on Links, Tooltips and Accessibility
June 30th, 2008
In a recent article, How to Make Accessible Image Links (Redux), the subject of real world implementation of the title attribute also became a topic worth taking a little further. While there are some very good resources out there explaining the pros and cons of title attributes, it still seems worthwhile recapping and bringing some of that external information into one place. This article will be aimed at discussing title attributes on links. The title attribute can be used on nearly every element and is even compulsory on several (including frames oink!). Did I just say oink? Frames. Oink?
The Title Attribute
The title attribute (not to be confused with the title element in your document head) is available to provide supplementary implementation information to users, although without a solid guide to user agents on how to implement the title there is an inconsistency among browsers as to how they support it. In some cases the title may be provided as a tool tip, although this would require the user to hover over the element with a pointing device. Keyboard users wouldn’t see the tooltip, while screen readers have title attributes turned off by default and users have to turn that feature on.
