title attribute use and abuse examples

Updated 23rd of January, 2012

Some pages were picked on a whim, to get data on how title attributes are used in the wild.

Further reading:

Summary

Of the pages checked approximatley 90% of title attribute content was a duplicate or similar to the text content of the element the title attribute was associated with.

Monster.co.uk (Job site)

code example

<a title="United States" href="http://www.monster.co.uk/geo/siteselection/MONS">United States</a>

screenshot of part the Monster.co.uk location page, with title attribute content displayed inline.

Twitter search #accessibility

code example

<span title="Retweet" class="retweet">Retweet</span>

screenshot of part the Twitter search page results for #accessibility, with title attribute content displayed inline.

Microsoft Store

code example

<a id="gnavItem1" class="gnavItem1" title="Office" href="/UK/en-GB/Microsoft/Office" target="_parent">
Office
</a>

screenshot of part the Microsoft store home page, with title attribute content displayed inline.

Argos

code example

<a href="http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Browse/ID72/14418350/c_1/1|category_root|Health+and+personal+care|14418350.htm"
title="Health &amp; Personal Care" class="maincategorylink" onclick="...">
<span class="linkinner"><span class="">Health &amp; <br>Personal Care</span></span>
</a>

screenshot of part the Argos home page, with title attribute content displayed inline.

HSBC

code example

<a href="/1/2/personal/investments/tax-efficiency" title="Book an appointment today for advice on tax-efficient investing. The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise, so you maynot get back the full amount you invested. Aim to invest for at least 5 years. Find out more." target="_self" onclick=" "><img src="/1/PA_1_5_S5/content/uk/images/touch_clarity/en/hsbc_red_dragon_740x185.gif" height="185" width="740"border="0" /></a>alt="Book an appointment today for advice on tax-efficient investing. The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise, so you maynot get back the full amount you invested. Aim to invest for at least 5 years. Find out more."

screenshot of part the HSBC home page, with title attribute content displayed inline.

Lanyrd - Conferences in the United States

code example

<p class="date"><strong><abbr class="dtstart" title="2011-03-14">14th March</abbr> to <abbr class="dtend" title="2011-06-17">17th June 2011</abbr></strong></p>

screenshot of part the Lanyrd, Conferences in the United States page, with title attribute content displayed inline.

Target

code example

<a style="width: 73px;" class="fixed" title="Furniture" href="/b/ref=nav_t_spc_10_0/177-6351585-2481219?ie=UTF8&amp;node=1038614">Furniture</a>

screenshot of part the Target home page, with title attribute content displayed inline.

Author: steve faulkner The Paciello Group
contact: [email protected]

Creative Commons License
This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.