Who this affects
There is no way to skip past the navigation to the main content. Keyboard users must tab through the entire menu on every page.
How to fix it
Add a "Skip to content" link as the first focusable element, and wrap the main content in <main>.
Effort Low · ~30 min once
Before and after
Fails
<body>
<nav>… 40 links …</nav>
<main>…</main>Passes
<body>
<a class="skip" href="#main">Skip to content</a>
<nav>… 40 links …</nav>
<main id="main">…</main>Where this sits in the standard
| WCAG success criterion | Level | EN 301 549 clause |
|---|---|---|
| 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks | A | 301-549, 9.2.4.1 |
EN 301 549 clause 9 applies these criteria to web content. The published version referenced by the European Accessibility Act is V3.2.1, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 level A and AA. More on the standard.
How to check it by hand
Put the mouse down. Tab from the top of the page to the bottom. Every interactive element must be reachable, must show a visible focus indicator, and you must be able to tab back out of anything you tab into.
Automated testing settles roughly a third of the WCAG success criteria. This rule is one an automated tool detects reliably — but a clean automated result is not proof of conformance.
Reference
Deque's technical write-up for this rule: bypass
See whether your site trips this rule
Paste a URL. We open it in a real browser, dismiss the cookie wall and run the full EN 301 549 rule set. No account, no card.