What is Keyboard Accessibility Testing?
The process of evaluating a website or application to ensure that all interactive elements, like buttons, links, and form fields, can be fully navigated and used solely with a keyboard, which is crucial for users with disabilities who rely on keyboard navigation instead of a mouse. Manually checking if a digital product, software, website, or platform is accessible to people with disabilities who primarily use a keyboard to interact with technology
How to test for accessibility?
You can use the free accessibility testing tool ANDI (Accessible Name & Description Inspector) to test the accessibility of forms, images, headings, color contrast, data tables, links, and more.
- ANDI (Accessible Name & Description Inspector) is a free tool that helps identify and fix keyboard accessibility issues in web content. It's a browser-based bookmarklet that can be used by web developers, content creators, and testers.
- Visit the ANDI site to get started with the free Tutorial and Modules.
- Then Launch ANDI and navigate to the page to be tested. Launch ANDI by clicking on the favorite/bookmark labeled "ANDI." ANDI will be inserted onto the page: Get Installation Instructions
If you want to test without using the free tool ANDI, here are some steps to follow.
- Refresh the page to ensure you are on the address bar.
- Use the tab key to move down through the entire page.
- Use the shift+tab key to move back up through the page.
Manual Keyboard Navigation
- The first tab should get you to a "skip link" or "skip to main content" link.
- Every interactive element should appear in the tabbing order when testing.
- When tabbing, there is a clear visible focus box around the content you are tabbing to.
Below is an example of a visible focus box around "offices."
Below is an example of a not-visible focus box around the search bar.
The blue around it should be darker to make the color contrast pass.
Below is an example of no focus box around “Partners.”
There is not focus on the "Partners" link at all.
- While testing, use “enter” or “return” when on a tab focus item to confirm that it will select where the tab focus item is showing.
In the following example, we were using the "enter" or "return" key while the tab focus was on "offices" and it brought me to the "offices" homepage.
- Use the mouse to hover over each interactive element to see the hover state. Compare to tab focus state to confirm that there is an equivalent state.
For example, hovering the mouse over a menu causes a drop-down of sub-options. Verify that this happens with the tabbing as well.
- You should be able to use your keyboard to dismiss any pop-up windows that cover the main content.
- You will also need to test other important key (s) that keyboard-only users use while exploring the internet. The table below shows essential keystrokes that should be tested on a web page and the expected outcome:
| Interaction | Keystoke(s) | Expected Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Navigate the Webpage |
|
|
| Link |
|
|
| Button |
|
|
| Checkbox |
|
|
| Radio buttons |
|
|
| Select (dropdown) menu |
|
|
| Autocomplete |
|
|
| Dialog |
|
|
| Slider |
|
|
| Menu bar |
|
|
| Tab panel |
|
|
| ’Tree’ menu |
|
|
| Scroll |
|
|
Additional Resources
Microsoft Insights Chrome extension has a walk-through on keyboard testing that walks you through and shows you where you are tabbed, which can be helpful if the site does not have focus.
- Along with the guides listed above, it shows its path, allowing the test to verify the logical tabbing order. Doing the assessment is a lengthy test that is useful for testing, though if you only want to do keyboard testing, you can use the keyboard section, which will help you walk through the entire testing.
- Screen reader Keyboard Shortcuts: