- Success Criterion 2.4.3
- Conformance level A
Modal That Closes Without Returning Focus to Its Trigger
2.4.3 — Focus Order
Scenario
Setting
An online clothing store's product listing page
What’s wrong
Closing a modal without returning focus to the trigger (focus dumped to body/top).
Example
On an online clothing store's product listing page: closing a modal without returning focus to the trigger (focus dumped to body/top).
Why it matters
Keyboard and screen-reader users who follow focus rather than the pointer. The practical effect on an online clothing store's product listing page: they lose track of where they are on the page.
How to test
Close a modal (Esc or the close button) and check where focus lands: if it goes to body/top instead of back to the element that opened the modal, it fails.
How to fix
Return focus to the triggering control when the dialog closes.
Outcome
That one change on an online clothing store's product listing page means they reach and operate the control without a mouse.
Who is affected
Keyboard and screen-reader users who follow focus rather than the pointer.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- Tab Order That Jumps Around the Page Illogically
- Dialog That Opens Far From the Button That Triggered It
- Visual Layout Order That Doesn’t Match the Keyboard Tab Order
- Modal That Opens Without Moving Keyboard Focus Into It
- Expanded Content That Never Receives Keyboard Focus
- Hidden Navigation Items That Are Still Reachable by Tab