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Accessibility and 'skip to' links

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Subject:  Accessibility and 'skip to' links
Author:   RosieSherry:   view profile | all posts by this author | add to favourites
Date:   17:35:29 3 May 2006
 
I would definitely agree that skip to links are an accessibility issue, and that it should be reminded that it's not only screen reader users who benefit from skip to links.  Any user that does not or cannot use a mouse comes under the category who would benefit from the implementation of skip to links.

The main points that I struggle with are:
  • the use of CSS to place content first (so that a 'skip to navigation' is used) and having navigation located at 'the end'.  This can break the flow of navigation.
  • the lack of visibility of most links.  Users who use skip to links without screenreaders can easily get confused or lost through navigation.
  • 'Skip to' links are gaining a reputation of being similar to 'click here' links.  Does it not make sense to have 'Skip to lead story', 'Skip to Our Services', etc, not only is this more clear to the user, but also good for SEO.
Rosie Sherry
QA Consultant
www.drivenqa.com
http://rosiesherry.blogspot.com/
 
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  • Accessibility and 'skip to' links, RosieSherry, 26 Apr 15:53
    I'm hoping to spark up a bit of debate... The nature of being a tester is to continuously ask questions. And this is what I do. My most recent bother is regarding 'skip to' l ...
    • RE: Accessibility and 'skip to' links, Ashley , 26 Apr 17:31
      I don't think I've ever seen a 'Skip' option that I *haven't* clicked on. Almost aways I think they are an admission that "we'd like to make you see XYZ first, but here's a get-out ...
    • Accessibility and 'skip to' links, AndrewAllfrey, 27 Apr 12:48
      The only occasions I'd recommend using a Skip to .... link is for skipping navigation after the initial home page to avoid the navigation being repeated on all subsequent pages, wh ...
    • Accessibility and 'skip to' links, PaulWalsh, 28 Apr 12:40
      In response to Rosie, Andrew and Ashley. There is a valid reason to use a ‘skip to xx’ option but it’s not relevant to every user all of the time. This isn’t an accessibility r ...
      • Accessibility and 'skip to' links, studio24, 3 May 15:02
        I agree with Andrew and Paul. Skip navigation is very useful for some users. There are many techniques to hide such links from visual web browsers so it's really just simple good p ...
        • Accessibility and 'skip to' links, RosieSherry, 3 May 17:35
          I would definitely agree that skip to links are an accessibility issue, and that it should be reminded that it's not only screen reader users who benefit from skip to links.  Any u ...
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