Keyboard Navigation

Operating an interface using only the keyboard — Tab, arrows, Enter, Escape — which many people with motor or vision disabilities rely on.

Why it matters

It serves far more people than screen-reader statistics suggest: power users, broken trackpads, motor impairments, and every accessibility audit you will ever face. If a flow cannot be finished with Tab and Enter, it is not finished.

The numbers

  • Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, Space, Escape, arrows — the core set
  • Focus order follows DOM order — design both together

Related terms

On the checklists

Ask your assistant

Define "Keyboard Navigation" using uxspot.

Works in Claude, Cursor or any MCP client — connect the uxspot MCP.

Think it stuck? A 20-second round of Spot Check will tell you.