Tab and read order

Applies to

• Websites
• Documents

Overview

Movement through a web page or application should follow a logical order. It should mirror the visual order of navigation and controls on the page. Users who are navigating by keyboard (e.g., using the tab key) expect to move sequentially from left to right and top to bottom through the focusable elements on the page.

Techniques

• Tab and read order on websites
• Tab and read order in documents

WCAG 2.1 success criteria

The issues described on this page, and associated Techniques pages, map to the following success criteria in the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1:

• 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (Level A)
• 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A)