Today Temani Afif asked a question: Are the below codes equivalent if we consider all the aspects? (a11y, semantic, something else maybe?) If not, what is missing (or should be changed) in the second code CSS by T. Afif (@css@front-end.social) 22 January 2026, 2:52pm I have my canned response that…

Adrian Roselli is a web developer, accessibility advocate, and expert in web standards. Readers can learn about web accessibility, inclusive design, and best practices for building accessible websites and applications. With articles, tutorials, and presentations, Adrian Roselli shares  insights and techniques for creating digital experiences that are usable and accessible to everyone.

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Testing reveals that using aria-label on links, aria-hidden within links, and splitting letters across span elements creates barriers beyond screen readers. Browser text-to-speech features (Edge Read Aloud, Chrome reader mode, Safari Speech) fail to announce aria-label values, skip aria-hidden content entirely, and struggle with letter-separated text. Chrome's reader mode even visually hides aria-hidden links. The key recommendations: avoid aria-label on links, don't use aria-hidden within links, and don't split words across elements.

Barriers from Links with ARIA