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Re: Where should focus be on page load?

for

From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Dec 6, 2021 4:58AM

If it's a full page reload focus should go to the top of the page (its
expected behavior).
By full page reload I basially mean the whole main content of the page
is refreshed and the title is changed.
If the page has more than 5 focusable elements in the header, it
should ahve a skip link anyway to quickly get the usre back to main
content (the 5 rule is my best practice, not WCAG).

If the reload happened as a result of the user clicking the "back"
button, focus should go to the link used to navigate to that page.

If focus is returning from a modal dialog or tooltip, focus should be
placed back on the element used to trigger its display (unless the
user took action in the dialog that changed the context, e.g. delete
an item or navigate elsewhere).

If the user deleted an item from a table or list, focus should either
go to the top of the table/list or to the element prior to the one
being deleted (or the ome immediately following), no hard rule but it
makes sense, you don't want to interup the user's train of thought and
they might not be done interacting with that content.

If you have an accordion or tab that the user activates, the focus
stays on the trigger used to display content, it does not move.

If you trigger display of content that does not immediately follow the
location of the trigger, the focus should go to the beginning of that
content.

For other issues, use your best judgment or consult with your UX team
and/or usability testing.

On 12/6/21, Mark Magennis < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> Actually, not just interested to hear from screen reader users but keyboard
> users in general.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > On Behalf Of Mark
> Magennis
> Sent: 06 December 2021 10:30
> To: <EMAIL REMOVED>
> Subject: [EXTERNAL] [WebAIM] Where should focus be on page load?
>
> I'd be interested in hearing the opinions of screen reader users or those
> who are very familiar with screen reader users' experiences about where
> focus should be when a page loads. I see this as a usability issue rather
> than a compliance one.
>
> The way I've always looked at this is that when a new 'page' is opened -
> either a new URL or, in a single page application, a new distinct functional
> chunk (vague I know), focus should normally go to the top of the page. This
> helps with predictability and consistency. Only in exceptional circumstances
> should focus be moved to somewhere else such as the start of the unique page
> content.
>
> In my thinking, exceptional circumstances are when the user is engaged in a
> predictable workflow, where the current step leaves focus somewhere distant
> from the content the user will predictably need to read or interact with
> next. An example is a site search that opens a search results page. It is
> predictable that after submitting the search the user will want to
> immediately read the results. It's hard to imagine a scenario when this will
> not be the case. So when the search results page open, it is helpful to
> place focus at the start of the results, usually on a results statement such
> as "Showing 20 of 1,483 results for xxxxx". Other predictable workflows
> occur within multi-step processes such as purchasing or ticket booking where
> at each step the user will always want to go to the start of the step
> instructions or inputs. So it is helpful to place them there when the step
> is loaded.
>
> Am I looking at this the right way, or is it helpful to place focus at the
> start of the unique content more often, even on most pages perhaps?
>
> Aside from page loads, content changes with predictable workflows seem to
> occur whenever hidden content is revealed or new content is added to a page.
> For example, if a 'Show Table of Contents' button is used to open a content
> navigation panel should focus be moved to the panel because it is
> predictable that the user will want to use it (why would they have opened it
> otherwise)? Or when an 'Add New Record' button in a table toolbar causes a
> new row to be added to the table containing fields that need to be filled
> in. It seems predictable that the user will want to immediately fill them
> in, so should focus always be moved to the first field in the newly added
> row?
>
> Would be very interested to hear users' preferences. Thanks, Mark
>
> Mark Magennis (he/him)
> Senior Accessibility Specialist
> Skillsoft | mobile: +353 87 60 60 162
> www.skillsoft.com<;http://www.skillsoft.com/>;
>
> [Skillsoft / Sumtotal]
>
> > > > >


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