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Re: Skip Links and ARIA Landmarks for Sighted Users

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From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Aug 13, 2016 4:55PM

I usually point people to this article about skip links:
http://terrillthompson.com/blog/161
especially the CSS that makes skip links visible for keyboard only
users on focus.
That the JQuery solution is no longer needed (browsers have improved
since the article was written).
Just make sure to put tabindex="-1" on the target (as well as
role="main" if it isn't the <main> element so you get the
corresponding main landmark).
If the skip link is completely off-screen at all times it is close to
useless. Screen reader usres don't need it, if they have landmarks or
headings, but the keyboard only user has no such mechanism.
I also know that people are acutely aware of how precious screen space
is, so often they are not able to fit an "always visible skip link"
into their designs.
But a skip link that is the first tab sstop on the page and becomes
visible as you tab to it (on focus) with is a good compromise and
people are usually willing to implement that.
-B


On 8/13/16, Jim Homme < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> Hi,
> This is my position briefly on this topic. I like to avoid using off-screen
> controls at all. Keyboard-only users get confused when they tab onto
> controls and don't see focus. It also confuses issues when blind people try
> to get help from customer service people without disabilities, because they
> may not realize that some content is off-screen. Further more, it's a nice
> feature that JAWS has built in recently to jump directly to the main
> landmark of a page. Of course, this depends, as do any other landmatrks, on
> correct coding practices. Until browsers allow keyboard-only users to jump
> among landmarks, I see no choice but to continue to use skip links or some
> other similar mechanism. I feel that there should be as fiew of them as
> possible, though, because it forces the keyboard-only user to tab onto
> another link every time developers include it.
>
> Hopefully I didn't miss something in this tirade.
>
> Jim
>
>
> =========>
> Jim Homme,
> Accessibility Consultant, Web developer,
> Bender HighTest Team,
> Bender Consulting Services, inc.
> 412-787-8567,
> <EMAIL REMOVED> <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >,
> http://www.benderconsult.com/our%20services/hightest-accessible-technology-solutions
>
> On Aug 13, 2016, at 4:39 PM, Whitney Quesenbery
> < <EMAIL REMOVED> <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >> wrote:
>
> What about skip links that are invisible until reached by tabbing?
>
> I've seen these in a few places and thought they were an elegant compromise
> between an uncluttered visual interface and good keyboard navigation. In
> several of the examples, the link appears in a blank spot on the interface,
> with a strong outline, so it's easy to read.
>
> On Thu, Aug 11, 2016 at 3:54 PM _mallory
> < <EMAIL REMOVED> <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >> wrote:
>
> On Wed, Aug 10, 2016 at 10:35:55AM -0600, Jared Smith wrote:
> I'd love to have this functionality. I know there have been efforts to
> get browsers to support this functionality, but I don't think it's
> gotten anywhere. If it ever happened, the ugly, obtrusive hack of
> "skip" links could finally go away.
>
> I kept using Opera 12 for as long as possible for exactly this reason:
> spatial navigation and heading navigation. Lovely. Gone when Opera
> switched to the Blink engine.
>
> cheers,
> _mallory
> > > > > <EMAIL REMOVED> <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >
>
> --
> *Whitney Quesenbery*
> (lists) <EMAIL REMOVED> <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> (work) <EMAIL REMOVED> <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> > > > > <EMAIL REMOVED> <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> > > > >


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