Ecology and Conservation MRes

Biomedical Sciences MRes

Aquatic Environments MRes

Chemistry MRes

Biological Sciences MRes

Education MA

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

August 2025

July 2025

University of Brighton

Title / URL	Issues
Ecology and Conservation MReswww.brighton.ac.uk/courses/study/ecology-and-conservation-mres.aspx	35
Biomedical Sciences MReswww.brighton.ac.uk/courses/study/biomedical-sciences-mres.aspx	34
Aquatic Environments MReswww.brighton.ac.uk/courses/study/aquatic-environments-mres.aspx	33
Chemistry MReswww.brighton.ac.uk/courses/study/chemistry-mres.aspx	33
Biological Sciences MReswww.brighton.ac.uk/courses/study/biological-sciences-mres.aspx	32
Education MAwww.brighton.ac.uk/courses/study/education-ma.aspx	27

Ensure focus is not fully obscured

University of Brighton

Where this issue has occurred