Ensure controls change appearance when they are selected

You can confirm this yourself by loading a webpage and using the Tab key to navigate through it. Anything you can select should alter its appearance when selected. For example, a text field might change color, or have a distinctive border applied.

This is default behavior for all standard web controls, and so if this issue is appearing it is because this default behavior has been disabled. Or alternatively, if you have written your own custom controls, these will need styling to support focus states.

To comply, links and form controls typically define an outline CSS style, which ensures they are highlighted automatically, for example:

input:focus (outline: 2px solid red);

If you choose to override or disable the default outline, you should specify an accessible alternative, such as a border or background color.

Troubleshooting

If the page appears to highlight when you use tabbed browsing, try testing the page with JavaScript disabled.