1. Introduction

In this tutorial, we are going to ensure our web interfaces are keyboard accessible. This is crucial because not everyone uses a mouse or touchscreen to interact with websites. Some people rely on their keyboards, so we should design our web interfaces accordingly to provide a great user experience for all users.

By the end of this tutorial, you will learn how to:

• Evaluate your website's keyboard accessibility
• Improve your website's keyboard accessibility
• Understand the best practices of keyboard accessibility

Prerequisites:

• Basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• Familiar with web development tools like any text editor (VS Code, Sublime Text, etc.) and a modern web browser for testing

2. Step-by-Step Guide

2.1 Understand the TabIndex Attribute

The tabindex attribute specifies the tab order of an element. By default, the tab order is defined by the order in which elements appear in the HTML. However, you can use the tabindex attribute to change this.

Best practices:

1. Avoid using a tabindex greater than 0. This can disrupt the natural tab order of the browser.
2. Use tabindex="-1" to make an element focusable, but not reachable via sequential keyboard navigation.

2.2 Implement ARIA Roles

Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) is a set of attributes that define ways to make web content and web applications more accessible to people with disabilities. They can be added to HTML elements to provide additional semantics and improve accessibility.

Best practices:

1. Use ARIA roles where the HTML5 semantic elements are not available.
2. Avoid overusing ARIA roles. Use them only when necessary.

3. Code Examples

3.1 Using TabIndex

<!-- This element will be focusable, but not reachable via sequential keyboard navigation -->
<div tabindex="-1"></div>

3.2 Using ARIA Roles

<!-- This element will be recognized by screen readers as a navigation bar -->
<nav aria-label="Main navigation"></nav>

4. Summary

In this tutorial, we learned how to evaluate and improve the keyboard accessibility of our web interfaces by understanding the tabindex attribute and implementing ARIA roles.

Next steps for learning:

• Learn about other ARIA attributes and how to use them
• Practice creating a fully accessible web page

Additional resources:

• ARIA in HTML
• Using the tabindex attribute

5. Practice Exercises

1. Create a simple web page and try to navigate it using only your keyboard.
2. Add tabindex attributes to your page and see how it changes the tab order.
3. Implement ARIA roles in your web page and test it using a screen reader.

Solutions

1. A simple web page can be created using HTML. You can use the "Tab" key to navigate through interactive elements.
2. By adding a tabindex of "-1" to an element, it becomes focusable but not reachable through sequential keyboard navigation.
3. A navigation bar can be made more accessible by adding an ARIA role, like so: <nav aria-label="Main navigation"></nav>. Test it with a screen reader to notice the difference.

Tips for further practice

• Try to navigate different websites using only your keyboard to understand their accessibility.
• Experiment with different ARIA roles and attributes to understand their effects.