- Success Criterion 3.2.1
- Conformance level A
Selecting an Option That Submits the Form Automatically
3.2.1 — On Focus
Scenario
Setting
A nonprofit's donation form
What’s wrong
Focus on a select/radio submitting the form.
Example
This shows up on a nonprofit's donation form: focus on a select/radio submitting the form.
Why it matters
Keyboard and screen-reader users, and people who are easily disoriented by surprise UI changes. On a nonprofit's donation form, this barrier means they waste time hunting for something that moved.
How to test
Tab to a select/radio and stop, without pressing Enter or a submit button: if the form submits automatically, it fails.
How to fix
Receiving keyboard focus must cause no change — no activation, selection, navigation, popup, or focus jump.
Outcome
Corrected, a nonprofit's donation form now lets a visitor find the same feature in the same place.
Who is affected
Keyboard and screen-reader users, and people who are easily disoriented by surprise UI changes.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- Element That Loses Focus the Instant It’s Reached
- Tabbing Into a Field That Opens a Modal Automatically
- Tabbing to a Menu Item That Auto-Navigates to Its Page
- Keyboard Focus Triggering an Unexpected Scroll Jump
- Tabbing Into a Field That Opens a Chat Widget
- Autofocus Chain That Jumps Focus From One Field to Another