Websites & patient experience · Website help · Keyboard and focus

Remove surprising jumps in the tab sequence

A supplier may force a prominent booking control to receive focus before the page header. This can create a sequence that changes unpredictably across templates and repeated visits.

What to change

Request one logical keyboard journey through the page rather than isolated priority jumps chosen for visual prominence.

A worked example

Illustrative example

A visitor moves from the skip link to the header, then into the main content. A booking button appears in its meaningful position instead of interrupting that sequence.

How to check the result

Accept when forward and reverse keyboard navigation follow a coherent page structure across the supported templates.

A mistake to avoid

Making one important action arrive first can render all the controls around it harder to understand and reach.

Your action checklist

Use these checks to prepare a discussion with your team or supplier. Tick a check when you have recorded the decision or evidence, rather than when a feature has simply been promised.

Decisions to record

Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Download your notes before leaving; the page does not save them.

Healthcare website design showing connected desktop and mobile service and enquiry layouts.
Make the service and next step clear on every screen.
Healthcare website accessibility illustrated by a focus outline, keyboard key, contrast samples and form.
Review keyboard access, contrast and understandable form fields.
Healthcare website testing with desktop and mobile forms, a checklist and success and error states.
Check complete journeys and explain failures clearly.

Further reading

These primary sources provide additional context for the project decisions above.

Related decisions

Turn the brief into a working service

Kay & Co. can help you scope the work, design the experience and deliver the right solution for your organisation.

Explore websites & patient experience services or discuss your project.

Try the free Healthcare Digital Planner to find your starting priority.