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Re: wai-aria presentation roles vs skip links

for

From: Jared Smith
Date: Nov 15, 2012 7:20AM

On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 7:06 AM, Alan M. Dalton wrote:

> However, not every website needs a skip-link: I didn’t put a skip-link on
> http://accessibility.ie because the content comes before the navigation on
> each webpage.

This works OK on this site because of the left-hand navigation. If the
navigation were at the top of the page, it could be very confusing for
sighted keyboard-only users for the navigation order to begin part way
down the page.

> as Luke Wroblewski says, “Focusing on
> content first, navigation second gets people to the information and tasks
> they want

Which makes sense, so long as the information and tasks they want are
not found in the navigation. This approach requires navigating
entirely through the page content before one gets to the navigation.
Would a "skip to navigation" link be useful?

And to concur with others, "skip" links are generally still necessary,
primarily for sighted keyboard users, even if landmarks are
implemented. If browsers would simply provide keyboard navigation by
headings and landmarks, the intrusive hack of "skip" links could go
away. And good riddance to them!

Jared