Overview

Skip links are visually hidden components that appear on first tab for keyboard-only and assistive-tech users. They allow a user to bypass large navigation menus and reach the main content of a page. To comply with accessibility requirements, every page should have a skip link component.

Design

Skip links are absolutely positioned to the top left of the page and designed to be visible above the content on the page. Keep them short and sweet, and avoid providing more than 1-3 links in the skip link component. Avoid overly small fonts, iconography, and font variations like bold or italics that will be announced in addition to the link to screen readers.

Content

Skip links are functional navigational elements. Be direct and avoid lengthy phrases. Simply a “Skip to main content” or “Skip to search results” will suffice. Avoid using all caps as this can be interpreted as yelling to screen readers.