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Focus indicator

The visible outline or highlight that shows which element the keyboard is on.

Also called
visible focus

When a person moves through a page with the Tab key, the focus indicator shows where they are: an outline around the link or button that will respond to Enter. Browsers draw one by default. Teams sometimes remove it because they dislike the look, and someone using a keyboard then loses their place on the page.

WCAG requires that focus be visible, and WCAG 2.2 adds that the focused element must not be entirely hidden behind sticky headers or other content. The fix is to design a focus style you like rather than removing the default: a thick outline in a brand color with enough contrast against every background. The W3C’s Easy Checks include tabbing through a page to see whether focus is visible.

Source

Easy Checks – A First Review of Web Accessibility

W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), 2024. Checked .

Keyboard navigation
Moving through and operating a page with the keyboard alone, mostly with Tab, Enter, Space, and the arrow keys.
Keyboard trap
A part of a page that keyboard focus can enter but not leave, so someone using a keyboard is stuck.
WCAG 2.2
The current version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, a W3C Recommendation.

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