Level AWCAG 2.2
3.3.1 Error Identification
If an input error is automatically detected, the item in error is identified and described to the user in text.
Why it matters
Screen readers
A red border alone cannot convey errors. Text and ARIA notifications are essential.
Color blindness
Errors indicated only by red may not reach the roughly 300 million people with color vision deficiency.
Cognitive impairment
'There is an input error' alone doesn't tell users what is wrong or how to fix it.
Mobile
On small screens a red border is hard to see, so clear text messages are important.
Live demo
Identifying errors
Only a generic error state
Persona perspective
Takahashi (28) — Totally blind
After submitting a form, hearing only 'there are errors' tells me nothing about which field is wrong. When concrete error messages are tied to specific fields, I can fix them immediately.