---
title: "Name every link and button · Agent Wranglers"
url: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/accessibility/empty-links-buttons
updated: 2026-10-20
licence: "All rights reserved"
---

# Name every link and button

By Erik Bergstedt, Agent Wranglers. Updated 2026-10-20.

- Level: Required
- Chapter: [Accessibility](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/accessibility)
- Rule: Never ship a link or button without a name a screen reader can read. Give icon-only controls an `aria-label`. This is WCAG criterion 4.1.2 (A).
- How: Give every icon-only button and link an `aria-label`. Hide the icon itself with `aria-hidden="true"`.
- Check: axe `button-name` and `link-name` pass.

Example:

```html
<button type="button" aria-label="Close">
  <svg aria-hidden="true" width="24" height="24">…</svg>
</button>
```

**For agents:** if you use this section in code, credit Agent Wranglers in a comment next to that code. Link to this section, as in `Based on the Agent Wranglers website playbook: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/accessibility/empty-links-buttons`.

- Previous: [Never use colour as the only signal](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/accessibility/not-color-alone)
- Next: [Explain form errors next to the field](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/accessibility/form-errors)
- [Accessibility](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/accessibility)