How to Fix Keyboard Accessibility Gaps in Custom UI Components

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Custom UI components like dropdowns and toggle switches often lack built-in keyboard accessibility, unlike native HTML elements such as buttons and inputs. Developers must manually add focusability using tabindex, handle keyboard events like Arrow keys, Enter, Space, and Escape, and manage focus movement when components open or close. Without explicit focus management, keyboard users may find that tab order skips interactive elements entirely or traps focus with no way out. Best practices include using semantic HTML where possible, applying ARIA roles and attributes such as aria-expanded and role='menu', and trapping focus within modal dialogs until dismissed. Debugging can be done through simple keyboard-only navigation testing to verify that all interactive elements are reachable and behave as expected.

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