Make accordions keyboard navigable

Poorly implemented accordions trap keyboard users and leave screen reader users unable to understand or navigate collapsed content sections.

Quick Reference

• Use button elements for accordion triggers with aria-expanded
• Associate panels with triggers using aria-controls
• Support Arrow keys for navigation between headers
• Use heading elements appropriately for document structure

Check

Verify accordions use button triggers with aria-expanded, aria-controls, and proper keyboard navigation (Enter, Space, arrows).

Fix

Implement accordions with button elements, aria-expanded state, aria-controls linking to content panels, and keyboard support.

Explain

Explain the ARIA pattern for accessible accordions and how they enable keyboard and screen reader users to navigate collapsible content.

Code Review

Review templates, server-rendered HTML, and shared components that output markup related to Make accordions keyboard navigable. Flag exact elements, attributes, and routes where the rendered HTML violates the rule.

For full implementation details, code examples, and framework-specific guidance, see references/rule.md.

Rule page: https://frontendchecklist.io/en/rules/html/accordion-accessibility