[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #26504: Semantic elements for non-link links

[WordPress Trac]

#26504: Semantic elements for non-link links
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 Reporter:  GaryJ           |       Owner:
     Type:  task (blessed)  |      Status:  reopened
 Priority:  normal          |   Milestone:  Future Release
Component:  Administration  |     Version:  3.8
 Severity:  normal          |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  has-patch       |     Focuses:  ui, accessibility, javascript
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Comment (by afercia):

 @joedolson not 100% sure about this, it seems to me we should consider 2
 different cases:

 '''Screen reader users'''
 Screen readers understand `role=button` and they activate the control when
 using Spacebar. An example of this are the "Quick Edit" and "Delete" links
 in the Categories and Tags screens. When not using a screen reader,
 Spacebar doesn't work. When using a screen reader, Spacebar magically
 works. No need for any JavaScript.

 '''Keyboard users (no AT)'''
 They are not informed about `role=button`. Visually, they see a link. It
 is unlikely they're going to press Spacebar because the link looks like a
 link. By the way, it gets a bit more complicated because sometimes links
 are styled like buttons :)  Probably we should make Spacebar work just in
 this case because what users "see" is a button and users will likely
 expect it behaves like a button.

 Worth considering it's even more complicated than this because there are
 also low-vision users who use screen readers as an aid in their
 navigation. They will "see" links that look like links being announced as
 "buttons". Unrelated to your proposed patch actually, this already happens
 because of the class `aria-button-if-js`.

 Thoughts?

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/26504#comment:38>
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