A11Y-008
Positive tabindex changes the focus order
LowDefault severity · Accessibility · Accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AA)
Last reviewed
What it checks
Elements with tabindex greater than 0.
Why it matters
Keyboard focus jumps around the page in an order that does not match what users see.
Recommended fix
Use tabindex="0" or remove it, and order elements correctly in the markup instead.
How to verify
Tab through the page and confirm focus moves top-to-bottom, left-to-right.
Example fix prompt
Generic prompt (your report adds the evidence)
Please fix this production issue in my app.
Issue A11Y-008: Positive tabindex changes the focus order
Site: https://your-app.example
First confirm the issue in the code or live config. If it is not present, say so and change nothing.
Task: Replace every positive tabindex value (tabindex="1" and above) with tabindex="0" or remove it, and fix the DOM order if focus order still feels wrong.
Constraints: make the smallest change that fixes this, keep the current design and behaviour, never paste secret values into code or chat, and tell me which files you changed.
Done when: Tab through the page and confirm focus moves top-to-bottom, left-to-right.