Writing Accessible Meter Value Text
Writing Accessible Meter Value Text records the APG’s explicit user-friendly-value rule and keeps it separate from control labeling or progress-indicator guidance.
When a meter’s numeric value is not self-explanatory, provide user-friendly value text that adds the context needed to understand the reading.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
This page covers wording of a meter’s user-friendly value text; minimum/maximum values, role choice, visual rendering, and update mechanics remain implementation concerns.
Further guidance
Content
Write value text that translates the raw measurement into user-meaningful information, adding context such as units or practical meaning when the number alone would be unclear.
Practical Application
Add user-friendly value text when the raw numeric reading is not meaningful enough on its own; translate the number into the wording users need without contradicting the underlying numeric value.
Purpose
User-friendly value text helps assistive-technology users understand what the meter reading means instead of hearing an ambiguous number or percentage.
Reader Check
Would a user understand what the number means without seeing the visual scale, legend, or surrounding graphic?
Worked Example
Example: For a risk meter whose numeric position is 2 on a 1–3 scale, value text such as “Moderate risk” can communicate the intended interpretation.
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.
- Meter Pattern — WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices Guide (opens in a new tab)World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) · W3C APG guidance for meter accessible naming and user-friendly meter value text when a numeric value alone is insufficient.