Keyboard Focus Indicator - Form Elements

Visual Example

 

Default State

Keyboard Focus State


Acceptance Criteria

A sighted keyboard only user typically uses the “TAB” key on the keyboard to navigate through form elements.

When an item has keyboard "focus", it can be activated or manipulated with the keyboard. 

A sighted keyboard only user must be provided with a visual indicator of the form element that currently has keyboard focus. For example an emphasized border or outline.

As a sighted keyboard only user I should:

  • be provided with a visual indicator of the form element that currently has keyboard focus

  • be provided with a keyboard focus indicator that is highly visible/emphasized and that has sufficient color contrast between foreground and background


Markup and Code

In addition to the default keyboard focus indicator provided by the browser (different treatment depending on the browser), you can use CSS to make the focus indicator more visually apparent and keyboard-friendly.

Ensure that the focus indicator is highly visible with sufficient contrast.

Markup

<label for="name">Your name:</label> <input class="form-visual-indicator" id="name" type="text">

CSS

.form-visual-indicator:focus { outline-style: solid; outline-width: 5px; outline-color: #495ED4; }

View HTML markup on github