Accessibility fix guide
Focus Indicator Not Visible
Focused elements lack a visible focus indicator (outline, border, or highlight). Keyboard users cannot tell which element is currently active.
Issue ID: A11Y-FOCUS-VISIBLE-001
Severity: moderate
Impact: Med
Effort: S
Use this article when
- You need deeper remediation guidance than the issue card can show.
- You want CMS-specific steps before handing the fix to a developer.
- You want a repeatable re-check path after shipping the change.
What this issue is
Focused elements lack a visible focus indicator (outline, border, or highlight). Keyboard users cannot tell which element is currently active.
Why it matters
Focused elements lack a visible focus indicator (outline, border, or highlight). Keyboard users cannot tell which element is currently active. This affects usability, compliance risk, and how many visitors can successfully consume the page.
How we detect it
- FreeSiteAudit flags this issue when the rule for A11Y-FOCUS-VISIBLE-001 fails and the page evidence points to Dom body.
- You can usually confirm this by checking the page source or the relevant page settings inside your CMS.
Evidence examples
Check the affected page source, rendered output, or relevant CMS setting to confirm the missing or incorrect element.
How to fix it
- 1Do not set outline: none without providing an alternative focus style
- 2Use :focus-visible to show focus rings only for keyboard navigation
- 3Ensure focus indicators have at least 3:1 contrast against the background
How to re-check it
- Tab through the page and confirm every focusable element has a visible focus indicator
Related tools
This issue is best verified with the full FreeSiteAudit crawl rather than a single-point mini tool.