- Success Criterion 1.3.2
- Conformance level A
Tab Order Used as a Stand-In for the Real Reading Sequence
1.3.2 — Meaningful Sequence
Scenario
Setting
A bank's mobile money-transfer screen
What’s wrong
Tab order used as a proxy: sequence conveyed only by tabindex (keyboard-focus setting) while page code (DOM)/reading order contradicts it.
Example
.step-2 { order: 1; } .step-1 { order: 2; } /* visual order ≠ DOM order */Why it matters
Screen-reader and keyboard users who encounter content in DOM order.
How to test
Compare the visual reading order to the Tab order: if tabindex values create a sequence that doesn't match DOM/reading order, treating tab order as a proxy for sequence fails.
How to fix
The screen reader must read content in an order matching the visual/logical order, item by item — nothing skipped, merged, fragmented, or added.
<!-- DOM order matches the order the CSS makes visible: step-1, then step-2 -->When CSS reorders content visually, the underlying DOM order must still match, or the reading order breaks.
Outcome
On a bank's mobile money-transfer screen, this barrier is gone for screen-reader and keyboard users who encounter content in DOM order — they get the same result as anyone else here.
Who is affected
Screen-reader and keyboard users who encounter content in DOM order.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- CSS Layout Changes That Scramble the Screen Reader’s Reading Order
- Word Spelled Out Letter by Letter Instead of Read as a Word
- Text Columns Faked With Spaces Read Aloud Out of Order
- Layout Table That Reads in a Nonsensical Order When Linearized
- CSS Reordering That Makes Code Order Differ From Visual Order
- Multi-Column Article Whose Code Order Interleaves the Columns