Keyboard focus

Keyboard focus marks the element on a page that currently receives keyboard input, usually shown with an outline. People who navigate without a mouse move focus between links, buttons, and form fields using keys such as Tab, so every interactive element must be reachable and usable via focus.

Two separate things need to be right: the focus order should follow a sensible reading order through the page, and the focus indicator itself needs to be visible enough to see against its background - removing the default outline with CSS and not replacing it is a common way websites inadvertently break keyboard navigation entirely.

Learn more

• Understanding Focus Visible - the WCAG success criterion requiring a visible focus indicator
• Reading order