WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: Initial focus on search field?

for

From: Liko, Todd
Date: Sep 23, 2014 9:01AM

Hi all.

Very good read on this subject. I understand the idea behind making a website more usable/more convenient.

For me, it is about expected behavior and choosing how I want to navigate the website, whether do so by keyboard or using a mouse. When visiting a site, I am not expecting the focus to be somewhere within the page. I do not want someone making the decision for me where I should start tabbing.

One example is when I am completing a form requesting a phone number. It is split into three fields. Sometimes, I must tab to the next field, sometime the focus automatically moves to the next field upon completion of the previous field. Some people like the convenience, I do not.

Todd.