Research projects | University of Portsmouth

Press and Media | University of Portsmouth

Sport Science degrees | University of Portsmouth

Contact us | University of Portsmouth

University of Portsmouth London | University of Portsmouth

News, Events & Blogs | University of Portsmouth

Horizons 5G | University of Portsmouth

Earth Sciences degrees | University of Portsmouth

Engineering degrees | University of Portsmouth

Computing degrees | University of Portsmouth

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

University of Portsmouth

Title / URL	Issues
Research projects \| University of Portsmouthwww.port.ac.uk/research/research-projects	9
Press and Media \| University of Portsmouthwww.port.ac.uk/news-events-and-blogs/press-and-media	8
Sport Science degrees \| University of Portsmouthwww.port.ac.uk/study/subject-area/sport-science	6
Contact us \| University of Portsmouthwww.port.ac.uk/about-us/contact-us	4
University of Portsmouth London \| University of Portsmouthwww.port.ac.uk/university-of-portsmouth-london	4
News, Events & Blogs \| University of Portsmouthwww.port.ac.uk/news-events-and-blogs	4
Horizons 5G \| University of Portsmouthwww.port.ac.uk/research/research-projects/horizons-5g	3
Earth Sciences degrees \| University of Portsmouthwww.port.ac.uk/study/subject-area/earth-sciences	3
Engineering degrees \| University of Portsmouthwww.port.ac.uk/study/subject-area/engineering	3
Computing degrees \| University of Portsmouthwww.port.ac.uk/study/subject-area/computing	3

Ensure focus is not fully obscured

University of Portsmouth

Where this issue has occurred