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Test with a keyboard

Unplug the mouse and walk the flow with Tab, visible focus, and a name for every control — then a screen reader on the unhappy paths. Use when a screen is "done," before a form ships, or when access is a backlog item with no method.

---
name: test-with-a-keyboard
category: design
description: >-
  Unplug the mouse and walk the flow with Tab, visible focus, and a name
  for every control — then a screen reader on the unhappy paths. Use when a
  screen is "done," before a form ships, or when access is a backlog item
  with no method.
---

# Test with a Keyboard

An accessibility audit that starts with a 50-page WCAG PDF produces a
spreadsheet and no change. The method that finds the defects users actually
hit is: **keyboard first, then a name, then listen to the unhappy path.**

You will not cover every success criterion in an afternoon. You will cover
the ones that make a product unusable for anyone who is not using a
pointer, and for anyone who cannot see the screen.

## Unplug the mouse

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