Understanding 2.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts
"This criteria applies to elements on your site that provide single-character keyboard shortcuts."
If your site does not have any custom shortcuts, this guideline is taken care of by most design platforms, including HubSpot.
This guideline aims to reduce accidental activation of single character shortcuts on web pages. Shortcuts are beneficial to all web users. however, it's important to implement them correctly in order to avoid frustrating and inconveniencing certain users.
Example:
- Some websites may utilize a shortcut "s" to bring up a search box. This custom shortcut may interfere with user assistive devices when trying to type the letter "s".
The Problem:
- Single character shortcuts can be problematic and frustrating for speech input users if their user agent interprets a word or sentence as the character shortcut.
- Keyboard users typing commands can be inconvenienced if the typing of their command includes the character that triggers the shortcut behavior.
Solutions
Ensure one of the following exists:
- Allow a toggle button to turn off character shortcuts.
- Allow remapping of shortcuts using a non-printable keyboard character such as ctrl, fn, cmd, alt, etc.
- Ensure the shortcut is only active when the element is focused on.