Buttons/Links Have Labels with Extraneous Characters

Short Description

Extraneous characters make it more difficult to read intended labels

Depending on the assigned level of verbosity on a screen reader, it might read some or all punctuation marks out loud. As a result, it might say the words "less" and "greater" when < and > appear.
If the text symbols are being used in place of the appropriate graphics, it leads to extra words that do not make sense. For example, a pair of links might appear as "< < BACK < <" and > > NEXT > >". A screen reader might read them as "less less back less less" and "greater greater next greater greater". It can be a challenge to filter out the meaningful part of the label.
If an "o" or "*" is used in place of a bullet and appropriate list markup, a screen reader might read "o" or "star" at the beginning of each line, obscuring the content and the fact that the intended format is a list.

Accessibility

Usability

Screen Reader

Computer

Mobile