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ARIA & keyboard

Positive tabindex changes the focus order

WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A)

WCAG 2.2
2.4.3 Focus Order
Level
A
Default severity
Needs review
Available in
Free

Why it matters

tabindex="1" and above pull an element to the front of the whole page's Tab order, ahead of the site menu, which disorients keyboard users.

Who it affects: Screen reader and keyboard users, who depend on ARIA and focus order being correct to understand and operate the page.

What Lumtera flags

Elements with a tabindex greater than 0.

Check ID tabindex-positive — use it to filter the content report or with wp lumtera issues --rule.

How to fix it in WordPress

Change the tabindex to 0 (or remove it) and put the element where it belongs in the content order instead.

Example

Flagged
<a href="/signup/" tabindex="1">Sign up</a>
Fixed
<a href="/signup/">Sign up</a>

How to check your fix

  1. Update the post. The issue disappears from the Accessibility sidebar on the next check, and from the site report on the next scan.
  2. Press Tab from the top of the page. Focus should move in reading order and never land on something invisible or silent.

Find this issue across your whole site

Lumtera runs this check in the block editor sidebar as you write, in the Elementor panel, in Review mode on the live page, and across the whole site in the content report and with wp lumtera scan. You can change its severity or turn it off in Accessibility → Settings.

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