Keyboard Navigation Enhancements in the Accessibility Toolkit

Keyboard navigation is a key aspect of web accessibility that ensures users can navigate and interact with a website using only a keyboard or assistive technologies such as screen readers or switch devices. Proper focus management is essential because many users rely heavily on keyboard commands for navigation. When a website is not fully keyboard accessible, it can prevent users from reaching important content or completing tasks, making the experience difficult or even impossible.

The Keyboard Navigation feature in the Accessibility Toolkit helps improve site usability by enhancing keyboard interactions through three key capabilities:

• Removing custom tab indexes
• Adding skip links to content
• Adding outlines to focused elements

Who is Affected

This issue particularly affects

• users with visual impairments who depend on screen readers to navigate using keyboard commands
• users with motor impairments who use the keyboard instead of a mouse to interact with content
• users with cognitive challenges who rely on predictable focus movement and clear visual indicators

Why Keyboard Navigation Matters

Every user should be able to move through a website using only their keyboard.
Common keys for navigation include:

• Tab – move forward through interactive elements
• Shift + Tab – move backwards
• Enter or Space – activate buttons or links
• Arrow keys – navigate within menus or sliders

Proper keyboard navigation supports cleaner, semantic HTML, which can indirectly benefit SEO and site usability.

When websites don’t support proper keyboard navigation, users may face several challenges:

• Focus gets “trapped” inside a pop-up or form
• Navigation menus are skipped or inaccessible
• No visible focus indicator to show where the user is
• Custom tab order confuses assistive technologies

These issues can disrupt the reading or navigation flow, especially for people relying on keyboards or screen readers.

Checking if Your Site Has Keyboard Navigation Issues

You can test your website’s keyboard accessibility with a simple manual check — no special tools required.

1. Open your website in a browser.
2. Press the Tab key to move through links, buttons, and form fields.
3. Observe whether focus moves logically from one element to another.
4. Look for a visible outline (a highlight or border) that indicates where the focus currently is.
5. Use Shift + Tab to navigate backwards and ensure the focus behaves consistently.
6. Try opening modals or dropdown menus using only the keyboard to confirm they can be exited without getting stuck.

If you can’t see the focus outline, skip over key elements, or get trapped in any section, your site likely has keyboard navigation issues.

Common Causes of Keyboard Navigation Problems

Keyboard navigation issues often appear due to one or more of the following:

• Custom tabindex values are disrupting the natural tab order
• Links or buttons not using semantic HTML (e.g., <div> instead of <button>)
• Missing or invisible focus outlines caused by CSS overrides
• Lack of skip links to jump past repeated content
• Modal windows or dropdowns that trap focus

Setting Up Keyboard Navigation Features

The Accessibility Toolkit plugin simplifies improving keyboard accessibility without needing to edit your theme’s source code.
This feature includes three key enhancements you can enable based on your site’s needs.

1. Remove Custom Tab Index

Some themes or builders add custom tabindex values that disrupt the natural navigation flow.
Removing these ensures that focus moves logically and predictably across the page, a crucial fix for both keyboard and screen reader users.

Before the tabindex checkbox is enabled

After the tabindex checkbox is enabled

To enable this feature:

1. Go to the Toolkit options in the plugin.
2. Under Keyboard Navigation, check Remove tab index from focusable elements.
3. Click Save settings at the bottom.

2. Add Skip Link to Content

Without a skip link, keyboard users must tab through every navigation menu item before reaching the main content on every page.

A skip link enables users to jump directly to the main section, saving time and improving usability.
This is especially helpful for users of screen readers or those with limited mobility.

Skip to content option

To enable this feature:

1. Go to the Toolkit options in the plugin.
2. Select Add Skip Link to Content.
3. Save your settings.

3. Add Outline to Focused Elements

If a visible focus outline is missing, users may lose track of their location on the page.
This option automatically adds a clear outline to focused elements — ensuring users can always see which item is active.

Focused element

Example of focus outline added by CSS:

:focus {
  outline: 2px solid #005fcc;
  outline-offset: 2px;
}

To enable this feature:

1. Go to Toolkit options in the plugin.
2. Check Add Outline to Focused Elements.
3. Click Save settings.

Before and After Enabling Keyboard Navigation

Before Enabling:

• Navigation skips important elements.
• The focus indicator is missing.
• Modals trap focus.
• Tab order feels random.

After Enabling:

• All elements are reachable via keyboard.
• The focus indicator is clearly visible.
• Users can skip repetitive menus.
• Navigation order is logical and smooth.

Why It’s Important for Accessibility and SEO

Proper keyboard navigation improves usability, accessibility, and SEO by ensuring:

• Full access for users who rely on keyboards or assistive technologies
• Compliance with WCAG 2.1 – Success Criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard Accessible)
• Improved crawlability and structure for search engines
• Enhanced overall user experience and engagement

Best Practices

• Always test your site using only the keyboard (no mouse).
• Ensure focus is visible and moves logically.
• Avoid removing focus outlines with CSS.
• Use semantic HTML for buttons, forms, and links.
• Manage focus correctly when opening and closing modals.
• Limit or remove custom tabindex values.

Ensuring proper keyboard navigation allows users with visual, motor, or cognitive impairments to interact with your website without difficulty. It helps create a smoother browsing experience for everyone and strengthens your site’s overall accessibility.