Traversal Order

The traversal order rule checks for the following:

• All app elements that can be focused on through touch exploration are accessible.
• App elements follow a logical focus order that reflects their visual layout.
• The app does not create a focus loop during screen reader navigation.

Success Criteria

The specific criteria for success are:

• On Android and iOS, avoid creating traversal cycles that can cause screen readers to get stuck in a loop.
• On iOS, each element that a can be focused on using touch exploration should also be focusable during linear navigation when using assistive technology.

How to fix

To prevent traversal order violations:

Example

Consider the following example:

Error

• The accessibilityTraversalAfter property for the elements creates a cycle in linear traversal. This causes some elements to become unreachable. As a result, the screen reader may enter a traversal loop, navigating between the same elements in a circular manner and never reaching the rest of the elements.

Fix

• Make sure all the accessibilityTraversalAfter properties specify the order of focus logically by pointing to the next element that should be reached by the screen reader.
• Make sure the focus order does not create traversal cycles and all elements are reachable by the screen reader. This ensures that screen readers do not miss elements or get stuck in traversal cycles.

References

• 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A): WCAG 2.1 · WCAG 2.2