It should be clear enough to most brand decision-makers in 2025 that accessible website design is far from a mere “trend” or “inclusivity for its own sake”.
What the current-day prominence of accessible website design amounts to, is a recognition that any given member of a brand’s target audience may use the Internet somewhat differently to the next person.
That person, in turn, might differ significantly in their browsing practices from someone else. This has potentially profound implications for the broadness of your business’s appeal.
An introduction to ‘keyboard navigation’
If a given website is “keyboard navigable”, this means a user can get around it using only a keyboard, without the need for a mouse or other pointing devices.
At the most basic level, this tends to involve using the “Tab” key to move between a website’s interactive elements, such as its links and buttons. When a user then wishes to activate one of those elements, they will typically use the “Enter” or “Space” key.
As you might expect, the exact keyboard navigation shortcuts that can be used will depend on the exact operating system and/or web browser the person uses.
However, certain shortcuts – such as “Ctrl” and “F” for finding specific text on a webpage, or “Ctrl” and “Tab” for switching between open tabs in a web browser – are commonly used across different platforms.
So, once a user knows some of these routine shortcuts, it probably won’t take them long to navigate a website like yours confidently using only their keyboard – presuming, of course, your site is keyboard navigable.
What are the reasons for keyboard navigation being so important?
The statistics tell much of their own story about how making your brand’s website keyboard navigable can greatly help expand its accessibility, attractiveness, and relevance.
You may not have been aware, for example, that the disabling condition of the hand known as carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) affects around 7% to 16% of the UK population. Approximately one in 20 people, over their lifetime, will develop CTS, which may be painful for those trying to use a mouse.
Some small business owners may also be surprised to learn that an estimated 16.1 million people across the UK had a disability in 2022/23. This made up just under a quarter (24%) of the population – a very hefty number of people to potentially alienate if you fail to optimise the accessibility of your brand’s website or ecommerce shopfront.
More than two million people in the UK are living with sight loss alone, with around 340,000 of these being registered blind or partially sighted. Such individuals often require the combination of a keyboard and a screen reader in order to make full use of websites like yours.
Reach out to Piranha Designs today about our web design and related expertise
As one of the leading website design, graphic design, ecommerce, and bespoke system solution companies in Gibraltar, the UK, and Spain, we are strongly placed at Piranha Designs to assist in the realisation of your organisation’s growth ambitions.
For a conversation about bolstering your website’s accessibility or other aspects of your brand’s online presence, please feel free to contact us.
