Keyboard navigation testing

All functionality should work using a keyboard. This is essential for all assistive technology to work properly. Most keyboard testing should be checked manually. The best time to test this is during development.

How to keyboard test

Note: before you start testing with a keyboard on a Mac, make sure the settings of your computer are set to allow full keyboard navigation: How to activate keyboard navigation on MacOS.

A detailed guide on how to test with a keyboard only is in the theme accessibility-ready guideline: Keyboard navigation support.

In brief:

Tab through your pages, links, and forms to do the following tests:

  • Confirm all links can be reached and activated via keyboard, including any inside drop-downs
  • Confirm all links have a strong visible focus indicator
  • Confirm all focusable visually hidden content (such as skip links) becomes visible when in focus.
  • Confirm all interactions like form fields, buttons, and other controls, can be triggered via keyboard. Any action you can complete with a mouse must also be possible from the keyboard.
  • Perform keyboard tests both with a screen reader and without. Screen reader use of the keyboard can override custom keyboard scripting.

Resources

Keyboard navigation support in the Theme guidelines for the WordPress accessibility-ready program. This page contains detailed testing steps for WordPress themes.

Other resources

  • First published: October 10, 2025
  • Last updated: August 10, 2026
  • Edit article: Improve it on GitHub

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Disclaimer: This documentation is intended to help the WordPress community understand and implement accessible practices. It is not a replacement for the official Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Please read the full disclaimer.

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