5 Ensure effective navigation and interaction
This chapter covers
- Applying unique page titles and headers for clear navigation
- Evaluating consistent navigation across pages
- Organizing content using sectioning elements
- Ensuring websites are keyboard-friendly
- Producing links that work for all users
- Designing for imprecise touch, gaze, and mouse pointing
In the previous chapter, we looked at the accessibility of text content: whether it respects human constraints, declares its language for assistive technologies, uses readable fonts and colors, and adapts when people resize, zoom, or change their default settings. These are foundational concerns because if people cannot read content, their experience will suffer.
Readability, however, is only part of the overall experience. People also need to understand where they are, navigate pages predictably and consistently, identify page and content structure, follow links with confidence, and activate interactive controls with any input method that works for them.
This chapter shifts from the accessibility of text to the accessibility of navigation and interaction. We will explore page titles, headings, consistent navigation, landmarks, keyboard support, link design, and target area design to support imprecise pointing. All of these together will help people navigate and interact with web applications confidently.
So, let’s get started.