skiplinks

Skiplinks are a web accessibility pattern consisting of one or more hyperlinks placed at the very top of a web document to allow users to bypass repetitive blocks of content, such as headers and navigation menus, and jump directly to the main content or other important sections.

They are typically implemented as small, keyboard-focusable links such as "Skip to content" or "Skip to main," with each link targeting a corresponding region identified by an element id (for example, href="#content" targeting an element with id="content" or href="#main" targeting id="main"). The linked regions are often main content, navigation landmarks, or search areas. In practice, skip links are usually hidden visually or positioned off-screen and become visible when they receive keyboard focus, ensuring they do not clutter the page for mouse users while remaining available to keyboard users and assistive technologies.

For accessibility, skiplinks support WCAG guidance on bypassing blocks of content and help screen reader and keyboard users reach the primary content quickly. Best practices include providing a minimal set of skip destinations, ensuring the target elements exist, maintaining stable anchors, and clearly visible focus styles. They should not interfere with the page’s semantic structure and should work alongside landmark roles and HTML5 sections.

Common considerations include avoiding broken links, especially on dynamic pages, and testing with assistive technologies. While not all sites implement skiplinks, they remain a widely recommended pattern to improve navigation efficiency for users who rely on keyboards or screen readers.