Accesskeys

Why It Matters

• Keyboard users need reliable shortcuts. People who cannot use a mouse depend on the keyboard for everything. If your accesskeys interfere with the shortcuts they already rely on, you are making their experience worse, not better.
• Conflicts are everywhere. Browsers, operating systems, and screen readers all reserve their own keyboard combinations. An accesskey that works fine in one setup can hijack a critical shortcut in another.
• Discoverability is a real problem. Even when accesskeys work perfectly, most users have no idea they exist. If nobody knows about them, they are not actually helping anyone.
• Inconsistency erodes trust. When the same key does different things on different pages — or different things depending on the browser — users learn to avoid accesskeys entirely.

How to Use Them Well

1. Keep the list short. Only assign accesskeys to the most important landmarks — things like the main navigation, search field, or skip-to-content link. The more you add, the more conflicts you create.
2. Use numbers instead of letters. Number keys (accesskey="1", accesskey="2") are far less likely to clash with browser or screen reader shortcuts than letter keys.
3. Document them visibly. If you use accesskeys, tell people about them. A small help section or tooltip that lists your shortcuts goes a long way toward making them actually useful.
4. Test across browsers and assistive tools. An accesskey that works in one browser might be completely blocked in another. Test your shortcuts in at least two or three different environments before committing to them.
5. Consider skip links instead. A visible <a href="#main">Skip to content</a> link at the top of the page often solves the same problem without any of the conflict headaches.

Common Mistakes

• Assigning accesskeys to everything. Adding shortcuts to every link and button on the page guarantees conflicts and makes the feature useless for the people who actually need it.
• Using common letter keys. Keys like S, F, E, and D are already used by browsers for Save, Find, Edit, and Bookmarks. Grabbing those is asking for trouble.
• Never testing with a screen reader. Screen readers have their own extensive shortcut systems. What feels like a harmless key assignment on your desktop can completely override a critical screen reader command.
• Assuming everyone knows the activation keys. The modifier key combination varies by platform — Alt on Windows, Ctrl+Alt on some Linux setups, Control+Option on Mac. Users need to know which one applies to them.