Keyboard users

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Keyboard users

Three types of people use keyboards when they browse through the web. They are:

  1. Casual users
  2. Screen reader users
  3. Power users

If you provide keyboard support, you should provide support in the order I listed above.

Casual users

Casual users are your everyday users. They browse the web with their mouse or touchpad most of the time. They click on things, and they scroll with their mouse wheel.

Some casual users may use their keyboards when they browse. If they use the keyboard, they use one of these common keys:

  1. Tab
  2. Arrow keys
  3. Enter
  4. Space
  5. Escape
  6. Backspace

We’ll talk about what each of these keys does in the next lesson.

Screen reader users

People who use screen readers for the blind people or people who are visually impaired. They use a screen reader to speak words to them instead of reading words with their eyes.

If you are a responsible frontend developer, you will provide screen reader accessibility. This accessibility is so important, that countries like Norway and most of Europe make it into law. If you build inaccessible websites, you can be sued.

Before you add screen reader accessibility, you need to make sure you handled the common keys for casual users. Screen readers build on top of these common keys.

You’ll learn more about screen readers accessibility in the Accessibility Module.

Power Users

Power users are people who value effectiveness and efficiency. They use keyboard shortcuts to improve their speed and productivity.

These people prefer to use keyboards because they can do things faster with a keyboard than with a mouse. Some power users can even keep their hands on their keyboards (and not use a mouse!) 100% of the time in some applications.

If you build an app, make sure your app has keyboard shortcuts for these power users (especially if your app is about productivity).