Ensuring Keyboard Accessibility for Interactive Controls

A Guide for Technical SEO

Introduction

Testing Keyboard Accessibility of Interactive Controls:

1. Manual Keyboard Navigation Test:

• Open your website: Launch the site in any web browser.
• Navigate with the Tab key: Use the Tab key to move through all interactive elements like links, buttons, and form fields.
• Check focus ability: Ensure each element is focusable via the keyboard.
• Focus visibility: Confirm a visible focus indicator (e.g., outline or highlight) appears when elements are focused.

2. Using Accessibility Evaluation Tools:

• Lighthouse in Chrome DevTools:

  • Open Chrome DevTools by right-clicking on the page and selecting “Inspect”.
  • Navigate to the “Lighthouse” tab.
  • Conduct an accessibility audit by ticking the “Accessibility” checkbox and clicking “Generate report”.

• Axe DevTools:

  • Install and open the Axe DevTools browser extension.
  • Perform an accessibility scan to identify issues.

• WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool:

  • Implement the WAVE extension to assess your web page.
  • Review the results specifically for keyboard accessibility concerns.

Fixing Keyboard Focus Issues for Improved SEO:

1. Ensuring Elements are Focusable:

• Tabindex attribute: Add tabindex="0" to custom interactive controls to make them keyboard focusable.
  • Example:

• Use semantic HTML: Employ elements like <button>, <a>, and <input>, which are inherently focusable.

2. Adding Focus Indicators:

• CSS for focus visibility: Apply CSS to ensure interactive elements display a visible focus indicator.
  • Example:

3. Enhancing Custom Controls:

• ARIA roles and properties: Assign appropriate ARIA roles to custom controls for better accessibility.
  • Example:

• Keyboard event handling: Use JavaScript to manage keyboard events for enhanced functionality.
  • Example:

Example Code for Accessible Custom Button:

Here is a comprehensive example illustrating how to make a custom button both keyboard-focusable and visibly indicated when focused:

Conclusion:

By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can ensure that your website’s interactive controls are fully accessible through keyboard navigation. This not only enhances usability but also improves your site’s technical SEO by making it more accessible to all users.