First time visit: View without clicking anything

International Admissions | George Mason University

The George | George Mason University

Admissions and Financial Aid | George Mason University

Campuses | George Mason University

Research | George Mason University

George Mason University | A Top 50 Public R1 Research University | George Mason University

Get a Job | George Mason University

Mason Online | George Mason University

Study Abroad | George Mason University

When selecting a user interface component with the keyboard, the focus indicator must 
not be completely obscured by anything in front of it.

## Why this matters

When using a keyboard, it is important that the user can see where they are on the page.
If the focus indicator is obscured, the user may not know where they are, and may not
be able to interact with the page.

## Examples

Most common examples include:

* Banners at the top or bottom of the page, such as cookie banners
* Fixed navigation bars
* Fixed footers
* Popup modals, such as cookie consent modals

## How to fix

With elements that cover part of the screen, such as cookie banners, ensure
that the user can scroll to see any content behind the banner, without having to close
the banner.

With popup modals, it should usually be impossible to focus anything behind the modal.
Most common modal frameworks will automatically trap focus within the modal, so that
this is impossible. Example: [Bootstrap Modal](https://getbootstrap.com/docs/5.2/components/modal/#live-demo).

## Further reading

This is part of the draft WCAG 2.2 specification and is subject to change.

* [WCAG 2.4.12](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/focus-not-obscured.html)

ensure-focus-is-not-obscured-minimum

June 2025

May 2025

George Mason University

	Title / URL	Issues
	First time visit: View without clicking anythingwww.gmu.edu/	10
	International Admissions \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/international	4
	The George \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/news	4
	Admissions and Financial Aid \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/admissions-aid	4
	Campuses \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/about/campuses	4
	Research \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/research	4
	George Mason University \| A Top 50 Public R1 Research University \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/	4
	Get a Job \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/student-life/get-job	4
	Mason Online \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/academics/mason-online	4
	Study Abroad \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/academics/study-abroad	4

Ensure focus is not fully obscured

George Mason University

Where this issue has occurred