Keyboard Accessibility for Everyone! ⌨️

Hullo! Here I am, lounging on the couch, watching TV shows. It's a typical Sunday afternoon and my laptop is sitting at a distance on the table, unreachable from my lounging position. A couple of weeks ago, I made it a habit to connect my wireless mechanical keyboard for lazy afternoons such as this, to serve as remote control. But having to use my wireless mouse too is a nuisance (and rather cumbersome on the textile surface), so I rely on the web's innate ability to be keyboard-accessible. Now, wait a second!

Right, I just remembered: even though native keyboard accessibility became part of HTML very early on (it was introduced in HTML 4.01 in 1999), many websites of today offer awful keyboard accessibility.

Users agree:

• People who like to lounge and use their computers from their couches (hullo!).
• Power users who know that relying on the keyboard is the proper and most efficient way to use a computer.
• And obviously people who can't use computer mice at all—with disabilities such as severe arthritis, quadriplegia, cerebral palsy or visual impairments.

And yet, making the web more keyboard-accessible is incredibly simple:

• Add skip links.
• Style your focus indicators (don't be shy with focus styles).
• Make modal dialogs closable via Escape key.
• Add keyboard controls for video streaming, including space bar to play/pause, arrow keys left and right for scrubbing and arrow keys up and down for volume control (looking at you, Paramount+).
• Add access keys if you're old-school (and if your users are, too).
• Offer one-letter keyboard shortcuts for web apps, but only if there's a way to disable them since they might interfere with (other) assistive technology.

Many of these features literally take minutes to implement and would nevertheless improve the lives of so many users. I'm convinced that the poor keyboard support on the web is a matter of visibility. This concerns a lack of accessibility awareness on the one hand and the fact that keyboard features usually remain hidden from view for people who rely on mouse control.

So listen closely, builders of the web, when I hereby make my demands: We need keyboard accessibility for everyone! 📣