WCAG 1.3.5 — Identify Input Purpose — autocomplete attributes missing

Who Is Affected

Users with cognitive disabilities, motor impairments, and anyone who relies on browser autocomplete or password managers. This particularly impacts users with dyslexia, memory issues, or limited dexterity who benefit from auto-populated form fields.

What This Means

When form fields collect common personal information (name, email, phone, address), they should include autocomplete attributes that tell browsers and assistive technologies what type of data is expected. This allows browsers to offer auto-fill suggestions and helps users with disabilities complete forms more easily.

For example, an email field should have autocomplete="email" and a first name field should have autocomplete="given-name". Without these attributes, users must manually type all information, creating barriers for people with disabilities.

Fix: CMS / Theme

If your forms are generated by your CMS or a form plugin, you can often add autocomplete attributes site-wide:

In Joomla:

1. Go to Components → Contact (or your form component).
2. Edit the contact form or form fields.
3. In the field settings, look for "HTML Attributes" or "Custom Attributes."
4. Add the appropriate autocomplete value (e.g., autocomplete="email" for email fields).
5. For custom form templates, edit the PHP template files to include autocomplete attributes in the input tags.

In WordPress:

1. If using Contact Form 7, edit your form and add autocomplete attributes to input tags:

   [email* your-email autocomplete:email]
   [text* first-name autocomplete:given-name]
   

2. For Gravity Forms, go to form fields → Advanced → CSS Class Name and add the autocomplete value.
3. For theme-based contact forms, edit the form template in your theme files.

Fix: Content Editor

For individual forms or custom HTML forms:

1. Identify fields that collect standard personal information.
2. Add the appropriate autocomplete attribute to each input field:
   • Name: autocomplete="name"
   • First name: autocomplete="given-name"
   • Last name: autocomplete="family-name"
   • Email: autocomplete="email"
   • Phone: autocomplete="tel"
   • Street address: autocomplete="street-address"
   • City: autocomplete="address-level2"
   • State: autocomplete="address-level1"
   • ZIP code: autocomplete="postal-code"

Example:

<input type="email" name="email" autocomplete="email" required>
<input type="text" name="first-name" autocomplete="given-name">
<input type="tel" name="phone" autocomplete="tel">

3. Save your changes and test that browser autocomplete suggestions appear when users interact with the form.

Standard Reference

WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.3.5 — Identify Input Purpose, Level AA

The purpose of each input field collecting information about the user can be programmatically determined when the input field serves a purpose identified in the Input Purposes for User Interface Components section; and the content is implemented using technologies with support for identifying the expected meaning for form input data.

• W3C Understanding SC 1.3.5
• WCAG Technique H98 — Using autocomplete attributes
• WCAG Failure F107 — Missing autocomplete attribute