Writing & StyleStyle guide

Writing Accessible Carousel Slide Labels

Writing Accessible Carousel Slide Labels records the APG’s content-name preference and bounded numeric fallback without turning carousel implementation mechanics into writing advice.

Quick answer

Prefer a unique name that identifies each slide’s content; use a position such as “3 of 10” only when a meaningful unique slide name is unavailable.

Key details

Core IssueW3C APG requires each carousel slide to have an accessible name and prefers unique names that identify slide content; when unique content names are unavailable, position and set size can be a meaningful fallback.
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Important caveats

Scope Boundary

This page covers slide-name wording; aria-roledescription, live-region behavior, and carousel focus/rotation mechanics remain implementation concerns.

Further guidance

Content

Give each slide a unique content-based name when possible; if no useful unique name is available in the basic carousel pattern, a position label such as “3 of 10” can provide meaningful identification.

Purpose

Distinct slide names help users identify the current slide and support slide-picker controls that refer to the slide by name or number.

Sources and evidence

Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.

  1. Carousel Pattern — WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices Guide (opens in a new tab)World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) · W3C APG guidance for carousel rotation-control labels and slide accessible names.

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Writing Accessible Carousel Container Labels records a distinct W3C APG-supported wording task while keeping implementation mechanics outside the writing guidance.

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