Keyboard Navigation and Focus Management
Ensure all interactive elements are reachable by Tab, manage focus programmatically in dialogs and routing, and create visible focus indicators.
Why Keyboard Navigation Matters
Many users can't use a mouse: motor disabilities, screen reader users, power users who prefer the keyboard. If your app isn't keyboard navigable, it's broken for them.
Tab and Shift+Tab
Tab moves focus to the next interactive element. Shift+Tab moves to the previous. Order follows DOM order by default — don't fight this; let the DOM be your tab order.
All lessons in this course
- WCAG Levels A AA AAA
- Semantic HTML as the Foundation
- ARIA Roles and Attributes
- Keyboard Navigation and Focus Management