UI Terms visual dictionary

Components

Accordion

A vertically stacked set of headings that each toggle a region of content open or closed.

What's a popover?
A small panel anchored to a trigger element.
How does it differ from a modal?
Popovers are non-blocking and dismiss on outside click.
Native HTML support?
Yes — the `popover` attribute now ships in major browsers.

Each header is a button; clicking it expands or collapses the content below. Some accordions allow multiple sections open at once, others restrict to one at a time. ARIA calls a single toggle a 'disclosure' and a grouped set of them an 'accordion' — most designers and developers just say accordion either way. The native HTML `<details>` element implements a single disclosure for free.

Also called

disclosureexpand-collapseshow-hidedetails panel

When to use

  • FAQs and reference content where most users only read a few sections
  • Settings or filters with secondary detail that doesn't need to be always visible
  • Long forms broken into collapsible groups

When not to use

  • Critical content the user must see (hiding it costs reads)
  • A single short section — no need for a toggle

Source

W3C ARIA Authoring Practices Guide. Native HTML: `<details>` and `<summary>`.

Read the W3C ARIA pattern →