Definition: Keyboard accessibility means every function of a website can be operated with the keyboard alone – without a mouse, and without individual key presses having to happen at a particular speed. WCAG success criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard requires it at Level A [1].
German: Tastaturbedienbarkeit · Also: keyboard operability · Last reviewed: 27 September 2026
To see how Reviseberg tests keyboard accessibility with real key presses, read agent testing.
Who depends on it
People with motor disabilities who use a keyboard, a switch or a mouth stick work without a mouse. Blind people operate their screen reader by keyboard. Voice control and many other assistive tools also end up sending keyboard input [2]. Add to that experienced users who are simply faster without a mouse – and anyone whose mouse is not to hand.
What it involves
- Everything is reachable: every link, button and field receives focus with Tab.
- Everything is operable: with Enter, Space, the arrow keys or Escape, as you would expect for that element.
- Nobody gets stuck: no keyboard trap (WCAG 2.1.2).
- You can see where you are: a visible focus indicator (WCAG 2.4.7).
- The order makes sense: a logical focus order (WCAG 2.4.3).
- You reach the content quickly: through a skip link, for example (WCAG 2.4.1).
Typical barriers
<div>or<span>elements with click handlers instead of real buttons and links.- Menus that only open on mouse hover [3].
- Custom dropdowns, sliders and carousels with no keyboard support.
- Features that only work by dragging with a mouse, with no simple alternative.
How Reviseberg handles it
The keyboard agent walks a user journey you define with real key presses: Tab, Shift + Tab, Enter, Space and Escape. Among other things it reports keyboard:unreachable for elements that behave like controls but cannot be reached with Tab, and keyboard:trap for traps. Where it cannot decide with certainty, it marks the step for a person. It tests the journey you define, not every widget on every page, which is why WCAG 2.1.1 counts as only partly automatable.
Related terms
Keyboard trap · Focus order · Focus indicator · Skip link · Semantic HTML