frontend-a11y— agent skill

Constraints

• Apply @rules/laravel/livewire.mdc — keep Blade presentation-only; use wire:model for bindings; components stay slim.
• Apply @rules/laravel/filament.mdc — reuse Filament's built-in accessible form/action components rather than rebuilding them.
• Apply @rules/security/frontend.md — sanitize any dynamic content before DOM insertion; prefer textContent/setAttribute over innerHTML.
• Stack is Blade + Livewire + Alpine.js + Filament + Tailwind. No React/Vue/Next — never output useState/useEffect/useRef/JSX.

Use when

• Building or reviewing forms (<input>, <select>, <textarea>).
• Creating interactive elements (modals, dropdowns, tabs, tooltips) with Alpine.
• Adding <div>/<span> with wire:click or x-on:click instead of a button.
• Adding any aria-* attribute.
• Managing focus or announcing async updates after a Livewire round-trip.
• Acting on accessibility feedback from a review tool.

Form accessibility

Missing for/id pairing and disconnected error messages are the most commonly flagged issues. Livewire's @error directive pairs naturally with aria-describedby.

Label connection

{{-- BAD: no association --}}
<label>Email</label>
<input type="email" wire:model="email">

{{-- GOOD: for matches id --}}
<label for="email">Email</label>
<input id="email" type="email" wire:model="email">

Required fields

{{-- visual asterisk hidden from SR; required + aria-required convey state --}}
<label for="email">Email <span aria-hidden="true">*</span></label>
<input id="email" type="email" required aria-required="true" wire:model="email">

Error association with Livewire

<label for="email">Email <span aria-hidden="true">*</span></label>
<input
    id="email"
    type="email"
    wire:model.blur="email"
    autocomplete="email"
    @error('email') aria-invalid="true" aria-describedby="email-error" @enderror
>
@error('email')
    <span id="email-error" role="alert" class="text-danger">{{ $message }}</span>
@enderror

@error controls both the aria-invalid/aria-describedby wiring and the message, so the link is always consistent with the validation state. Use fieldset/legend to group related controls (radio sets, address blocks).

Filament forms already emit connected labels, aria-describedby error wiring, and required markers. Reuse Filament form components instead of hand-rolling markup; do not strip their generated attributes.

Semantic HTML

Use the element that matches intent. Screen readers and keyboard users depend on native semantics.

{{-- BAD: div has no role, no keyboard support --}}
<div wire:click="save">Submit</div>

{{-- GOOD: button is focusable, fires on Enter/Space, announced as "button" --}}
<button type="button" wire:click="save">Submit</button>

{{-- BAD: fake navigation --}}
<div wire:click="goHome">Home</div>
{{-- GOOD: real anchor — supports middle-click, right-click, keyboard --}}
<a href="{{ route('home') }}">Home</a>

Keep heading levels sequential (h1 → h2 → h3); never skip a level for styling.

ARIA — only when native HTML is insufficient

Wrong ARIA is worse than none.

{{-- aria-label: when no visible text exists --}}
<button type="button" aria-label="Close" wire:click="close">
    <x-heroicon-o-x-mark aria-hidden="true" class="h-5 w-5" />
</button>

{{-- aria-labelledby: when a visible heading exists --}}
<section aria-labelledby="orders-title">
    <h2 id="orders-title">Recent Orders</h2>
</section>

Expandable trigger:

<button type="button" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="panel"
        x-data x-on:click="$el.setAttribute('aria-expanded', $el.getAttribute('aria-expanded') === 'true' ? 'false' : 'true')">
    Details
</button>
<div id="panel" x-show="open" hidden>…</div>

Keyboard navigation with Alpine

Every interactive element must be reachable and operable by keyboard alone. Build custom widgets with Alpine event modifiers.

<div x-data="{ open: false, active: 0, options: @js($options) }"
     role="combobox" :aria-expanded="open" aria-haspopup="listbox" tabindex="0"
     x-on:keydown.arrow-down.prevent="active = Math.min(active + 1, options.length - 1)"
     x-on:keydown.arrow-up.prevent="active = Math.max(active - 1, 0)"
     x-on:keydown.enter.prevent="$wire.select(options[active]); open = false"
     x-on:keydown.escape="open = false"
     x-on:click="open = !open">
    <span x-text="options[active]"></span>
    <ul x-show="open" role="listbox">
        <template x-for="(opt, i) in options" :key="opt">
            <li role="option" :aria-selected="i === active" x-text="opt"
                x-on:click="$wire.select(opt); open = false"></li>
        </template>
    </ul>
</div>

Modal / dialog with focus trap

<div x-data="{ open: @entangle('showModal') }" x-show="open" x-cloak
     role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-labelledby="modal-title"
     x-on:keydown.escape.window="open = false"
     x-trap.noscroll="open"
     {{-- x-trap (Alpine focus plugin) cycles Tab/Shift+Tab inside and restores focus on close --}}
     tabindex="-1">
    <h2 id="modal-title">{{ $title }}</h2>
    {{ $slot }}
    <button type="button" wire:click="$set('showModal', false)">Close</button>
</div>

x-trap from the official Alpine Focus plugin handles the trap and restoring focus to the opener. If the plugin is not installed, save document.activeElement on open and call .focus() on it when closing.

Focus & live regions for Livewire updates

A Livewire request swaps DOM fragments; focus and announcements must survive it.

• Loading feedback: wire:loading / wire:target toggle visible state without script.
• Announce async results with a polite live region so screen readers hear them:

<div aria-live="polite" aria-atomic="true" class="sr-only">
    <span wire:loading wire:target="save">Saving…</span>
</div>
@if (session('status'))
    <div role="status" aria-live="polite">{{ session('status') }}</div>
@endif

• Urgent errors use aria-live="assertive" (or role="alert"), nothing else.
• Return focus after a modal closes — dispatch a Livewire/Alpine event and .focus() the trigger, or rely on x-trap.
• Preserve focus across re-render — give moving elements a stable wire:key; without it Livewire may discard the focused node.
• Disable controls during requests with wire:loading.attr="disabled" so double-submits are blocked accessibly.

Images, icons, contrast, motion

<img src="/decoration.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true">                {{-- decorative --}}
<img src="/chart.png" alt="Revenue rose 23% from Jan to Mar">       {{-- meaningful --}}
<button type="button" aria-label="Delete"><x-heroicon-o-trash aria-hidden="true" /></button>

• Contrast: ensure Tailwind text/background token pairs meet WCAG AA (4.5:1 body, 3:1 large). Verify both light and dark: variants. Never rely on color alone to convey state — pair with text or an icon.
• Reduced motion: gate animation with Tailwind's motion-safe:/motion-reduce: variants instead of always-on transitions.

<div class="transition-transform motion-reduce:transition-none">…</div>

For Alpine transitions, branch on the media query:

<div x-data="{ reduce: window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)').matches }"
     x-transition:enter="reduce ? '' : 'transition duration-300'">…</div>

WCAG 2.2 success criteria

WCAG 2.2 added criteria that templated Blade/Livewire UI frequently misses. These complement the patterns above.

Target size — SC 2.5.8 (AA)

Interactive targets must be at least 24×24 CSS px (or have 24px spacing around them). Icon-only buttons and tight table-row actions are the usual offenders.

{{-- BAD: 16px hit area --}}
<button type="button" class="h-4 w-4" aria-label="Edit" wire:click="edit">
    <x-heroicon-o-pencil aria-hidden="true" />
</button>

{{-- GOOD: 24px minimum hit area (padding counts toward the target) --}}
<button type="button" class="h-6 w-6 p-1 -m-1" aria-label="Edit" wire:click="edit">
    <x-heroicon-o-pencil aria-hidden="true" class="h-4 w-4" />
</button>

Focus appearance — SC 2.4.11 (AA)

Every focusable element needs a clearly visible focus indicator. Never strip the outline without replacing it; prefer focus-visible: so the ring shows for keyboard users without firing on mouse click.

{{-- BAD: focus removed, keyboard users lose their place --}}
<button class="focus:outline-none" wire:click="save">Save</button>

{{-- GOOD: high-contrast ring, keyboard-only --}}
<button class="focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-primary-600 focus-visible:ring-offset-2"
        wire:click="save">Save</button>

Redundant entry — SC 3.3.7 (A)

Within one process (multi-step form, checkout) never ask the user to re-enter information they already provided. Persist it on the Livewire component (or session) and prefill, offering an explicit "same as …" shortcut instead of a blank field.

<label><input type="checkbox" wire:model.live="billingSameAsShipping"> Billing address same as shipping</label>
@unless ($billingSameAsShipping)
    {{-- billing fields, prefilled from the shipping step --}}
@endunless

Dragging movements — SC 2.5.7 (AA)

Any drag-to-reorder/drag-to-move interaction must have a single-pointer alternative (move up/down buttons or a position field), so users who cannot drag can still operate it.

<li>
    {{ $item->name }}
    <button type="button" aria-label="Move up" wire:click="moveUp({{ $item->id }})"><x-heroicon-o-arrow-up aria-hidden="true" /></button>
    <button type="button" aria-label="Move down" wire:click="moveDown({{ $item->id }})"><x-heroicon-o-arrow-down aria-hidden="true" /></button>
</li>

Error suggestions — SC 3.3.3 (AA)

When validation fails and a fix is known, the message must suggest the correction, not just report invalidity. Keep the suggestion generic enough not to leak sensitive data (see @rules/security/backend.md).

// BAD: 'date' => 'Invalid value.'
// GOOD: 'date' => 'Enter the date as YYYY-MM-DD, e.g. 2026-06-15.'

Anti-patterns

<div wire:click="save">Save</div>                  {{-- non-interactive element with handler --}}
<div aria-label="Navigation">…</div>               {{-- aria-label on element with no role --}}
<input placeholder="Email">                        {{-- placeholder used instead of label --}}
<button tabindex="3">Submit</button>               {{-- positive tabindex breaks tab order --}}
<button aria-hidden="true">Open</button>           {{-- aria-hidden on a focusable element --}}

Checklist

• [ ] Every <input>/<select>/<textarea> has a connected <label for>.
• [ ] Errors link via @error → aria-describedby and carry role="alert".
• [ ] No wire:click/x-on:click on a <div>/<span> without role, tabindex, and key handling.
• [ ] Icon-only buttons have aria-label; their icons are aria-hidden.
• [ ] Decorative images use alt="" and aria-hidden="true".
• [ ] Modals trap focus and restore it on close (x-trap or manual save/restore).
• [ ] Async Livewire results announce via aria-live; controls disable during requests.
• [ ] Moving elements have a stable wire:key so focus survives re-render.
• [ ] Token color pairs meet AA contrast in light and dark; state is not color-only.
• [ ] Animations respect motion-reduce: / prefers-reduced-motion.
• [ ] Interactive targets are at least 24×24 CSS px (SC 2.5.8).
• [ ] Focus indicators are visible via focus-visible: and never stripped without replacement (SC 2.4.11).
• [ ] Multi-step flows never re-ask data already entered (SC 3.3.7).
• [ ] Drag-to-reorder interactions have a single-pointer alternative (SC 2.5.7).
• [ ] Validation messages suggest the correction without leaking sensitive data (SC 3.3.3).
• [ ] Filament's generated accessibility attributes are left intact.