tabindex is a key attribute in HTML that controls whether elements can be focused and sequenced through the keyboard tab key. Its core role is reflected in: 1. tabindex="0" enables elements to focus and participate in tab navigation in the natural order of DOM; 2. tabindex="-1" elements cannot be tab-focused but can be focused through JavaScript; 3. Although the tabindex of positive integers can be defined in order, it is not recommended to avoid confusion. Correct application involves adding tabindex to interactive elements in custom components, such as adding tabindex="0" to div or span to achieve focus capability. At the same time, you should be careful to avoid abuse of tabindex="0" or forced sorting to cause unnecessary tab stops and logical confusion. Complex UI components often combine ARIA attributes to improve barrier-free experience, such as role and aria-label and tabindex="0" to ensure the accessibility of icon buttons. In short, add tabindex manually only if necessary, prioritize the default order or restructuring layouts through CSS and DOM for optimal user experience and accessibility support.
In web development, a good keyboard navigation experience is very important for both barrier-free access and user experience. tabindex
is a key attribute in HTML that controls whether elements can be focused through the keyboard tab key. Use it reasonably to allow the page to operate smoothly without relying on the mouse.

What is tabindex
?
tabindex
attribute determines whether an element can gain focus through the keyboard's Tab key, and its focus order. By default, not all elements can be tabbed, such as <div> , <code><span></span>
and other structural tags, unless you actively add tabindex
to them.
- tabindex="0" : The elements can be focused and participate in tab navigation in the natural order of the DOM.
- tabindex="-1" : The element cannot be focused through the tab key, but it can be focused through JavaScript calling
.focus()
method. - tabindex="Arbitrary positive integer" : The element can be focused, and the tab order is determined by the size of the numerical value, the smaller the number, the higher the number. But this usage is not recommended, it can easily cause confusion.
How to use tabindex
correctly to improve accessibility
When building custom components (such as buttons and drop-down menus), we often need to make tab focus capabilities for some originally unfocused elements. For example:

<div tabindex="0">This is a focusable div</div>
This way the user can use the Tab key to focus on this div. However, it is important to note:
- Don't abuse
tabindex="0"
and only add to elements that really need interaction. - If it is purely displayed content, do not add
tabindex
, otherwise it will interfere with the operation of screen reader users.
For component development, such as the buttons or switch panels encapsulated in React or Vue, remember to add a suitable tabindex
to the interactive area to ensure that keyboard users can also use it normally.

Avoid common pitfalls
Sometimes, in order to "make an element focus", developers directly add tabindex="0"
to it, but ignore the actual purpose. This can lead to several problems:
- A large number of unnecessary tab stops appear on the page, affecting efficiency.
- The content read by screen readers becomes lengthy and users can't tell the point.
- Using
tabindex="1"
andtabindex="2"
to forcibly change the tab order may disrupt the original logic of the page, especially in multi-language or multi-layout scenarios.
So suggestion:
- Try to maintain the default tab order.
- Only when native semantic tags (such as
<button>
,<a>
) cannot meet the needs, should you consider manually addingtabindex
. - If you have to set the tab order, use
order
attribute of CSS or adjust the DOM structure first, rather than forcefully sorting withtabindex
.
Flexible application in complex components
When implementing some complex UI components, such as tabs, pop-ups, or tree menus, tabindex
is often used with ARIA properties to ensure compatibility between keyboards and assistive technologies.
For example, a clickable icon button might look like this:
<span role="button" tabindex="0" aria-label="Close">×</span>
Here we used:
-
role="button"
to indicate its function. -
tabindex="0"
allows it to be tab focus. -
aria-label
illustrates its behavior, which facilitates screen readers to recognize.
This combination is very practical when no native buttons are available, but also be careful to test whether their behavior is as expected.
Basically that's it. The rational use of tabindex
is not particularly complicated, but it is easy to ignore the details. Just remember: not all elements require tab focus, only those parts that require user interaction should be added.
The above is the detailed content of HTML `tabindex` Attribute for Keyboard Navigation. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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