Keyboard Accessibility

Visually impaired people will, in addition to using a screen reader, often also use their keyboard to navigate within a website. This website discusses the most common online keyboard interactions.

Navigate to interactive elements

Tab

• Tab + shift (back)
• Clearly display focus state
• Set up navigation logically

Button

• Enter (activate button)
• Space bar (activate button)
• Elements with ARIA role = "button" "must be able to be activated with both of the above keys

Link

• Enter (activate link)

Checkbox

• Space bar (check / uncheck)
• Radio button

Arrows

• Tab (navigate to next element)
• Select (dropdown menu)
• Space bar (open menu)
• Left & right arrows (expand or collapse submenu)
• Enter (expand menu or select option)
• Scroll
• Left & right arrows (scroll horizontally)
• Space bar (scroll 1x screen size vertically)
• Shift + Spacebar (same as above, but back)

Source

WebAIM: Keyboard Accessibility. (2020, November 10). Retrieved April 7, 2021, from https://webaim.org/techniques/keyboard/