This is an example of a horizontal navigational menu with accessibility features applied.
Using a CHROME browser, select the 'HOME' link, then use your arrow keys to tab through the menu.
Accessibility Design Guidelines:
Menus and Navigation
Importance and Best Practices
Website navigation should be structured with semantic marked up in order to be accessible to users via key board tabbing and those using screen readers.
In order to meet we accessibility standards, navigation must be structured to include the semantic html element <nav>. This should include an ARIA <role='navigation'> attribute which communicates its meaning to assistive devices. Using an unordered list <ul> conveys structural information to assistive devices about the page region.
Assigning the appropriate ARIA <role=''> to navigational page regions are crucial for screen readers to communicate the meaning of elements to users with disabilities. See Figure A
EXAMPLES
Click on the icons below to reveal the corresponding WCAG Success Criteria
Friendly Flower Shop
Example 2
Skip Navigation
The “Skip Navigation” means users with assistive devices can avoid tabbing through all menu items just to reach the main content on the webpage, therefore saving them much time and frustration. Often, a website will have a “Skip Navigation’ which is only visible to screen readers as it works solely with assistive devices. This is accomplished using CSS. See Figure A.
"In order to support assistive devices, include a “Skip to main content” link before the header for keyboard users which is visible only when it has focus. This benefits keyboard users who can reach content with fewer keystrokes. Users can easily skip some sections which are not relevant to them."
Friendly Floral Shop
Trust your Friendly Floral Shop with online deliveries for every Ocassion
NOTE: This is only a visual representation.
To test out a working example, reload this webpage in a CHROME browser. Then press the TAB on your keyboard. This will make the "SKIP NAVIGATION" button visible at the top left of the page. Tap ENTER again.
Example 3
Breadcrumb Navigation
A breadcrumb navigation is a secondary navigation that provides a trail of the user's location within a website. One can find their way back to other pages through a hierarchical manner.
"It is also helpful when a user follows a link directly to a page deep within a set of Web pages and needs to navigate that Web site to understand the content of that page or to find more related information." WAI, WCAG
Breadcrumb navigation should be arranged horizontally as text links to be most comprehensive to the user in websites that contain a large amount of pages.
The Success Criteria for Menus and Navigation
Who Does This Benefit?
user IconUsing Keyboards for Navigation
vision IconVisual Impairments
computer IconPerson with a Motor Impairment
brain IconCognitive and Learning Disabilities
book IconReading Disabilities
external link icon  Learn More About NavigationThe Related WCAG Success Criteria
1.3.1 Info and Relationships
(Level A)
1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence
(Level A)
2.1.1 Keyboard
(Level A)
2.1.2 No Keyboard Traps
(Level A)
3.2.1 On Focus
(Level AA)
3.2.3 Consistent Navigation
(Level AA)
3.2.4 Consistent Identification
(Level AA)