Giving keyboard users the same path as mouse users

Role
Product Designer (solo)
Timeline
Jan 2023 – Nov 2024
Team
Early-stage startup
Standard
WCAG 2.2 AA
before/after of the core flow - drop real screens here

Problem

Tab order followed the DOM, not the visual flow. Keyboard users hit dead ends in the core consumer flow - actions a mouse could reach had no keyboard route at all, and screen readers announced controls in an order that made no sense.

Process

Audited every stop in the flow, rebuilt the layout in screen-reader order so the visual and programmatic sequence matched, then tested each round with VoiceOver and NVDA before shipping.

Outcome

Every mouse path got a keyboard twin. The rebuilt flow shipped across the consumer app.

23 mo

on the product

100%

keyboard coverage

2

screen readers tested