SFCG

Lesson 9: Skip Links

Learn how to test for skip links using a keyboard.

Background

Skip links, put simply, are links that let you skip content. In the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) they are considered a bypass block. They're usually the first focusable element on a web page and enable keyboard users to skip over content that's repeated across an entire website (such as the main links shown on every page).

According to the 2024 WebAIM Million report, there was a decrease in skip links from 17.2% the year before down to 13.3%. On top of that, 10% of them didn't work correctly. They're very straightforward to test with a keyboard, so if you're worried about them breaking over time, consider setting up a calendar reminder once a month!

5-minute action steps

  1. Go to the website you want to test
  2. Hit the TAB key
  3. Look for an element that:
    • becomes visible and wasn't previously
    • was already visible and now has a different style (like an outline)
  4. Does the element's text convey it can skip content? Examples:
    • skip navigation
    • skip to content
    • skip to main content
  5. If no, hit the TAB key again and go back to step 3
  6. If yes, hit the ENTER key and proceed to the next step
  7. Note if the page scrolls to the main content
  8. Hit the TAB key
  9. Note what element appears to be focused now

Analyzing the results

If you could not find a skip link towards the beginning of the webpage, it's likely it either does not exist or it is not becoming visible when focused via keyboard.

If you did find a skip link towards the beginning of the page, activated it with the ENTER key, but it didn't seem like the browser focus skipped to the main content area, it's likely the link isn't referencing the correct element or the element it's referencing doesn't exist.

Make some quick notes of your results in preparation for sharing them. If you're not experienced with keyboard testing, that's ok! Ask a peer or colleague if they know how and see if they get the same results.

Share your results

The end goal of this exercise is to resolve the issues you've found. Tracking them in your project management system is a huge step toward that goal. Sometimes we can't fix accessibility issues immediately, but we can always chip away at them over time.

Share the results you've noted today with the person or team responsible for fixing these kinds of issues. You might start the conversation with, "I'm learning to test for skip links, and these are some of my results."