How to fix aria hidden focus on Wix Studio
Remove `aria-hidden="true"` from any element that contains focusable children (links, buttons, inputs), or remove those focusable children from the keyboard tab order so they cannot receive focus while hidden from assistive technology.
Steps for Wix Studio
- Open Wix Studio editor and navigate to the page with the issue.
- Use the Velo IDE (Dev Mode) to access the page's JavaScript. Add an onReady handler that finds the hidden container and sets tabindex='-1' on its focusable children when it is in the aria-hidden state.
- For custom-coded panels or menus built with Wix Studio's layout tools, locate the component's show/hide logic and update it to toggle both aria-hidden and tabindex='-1' together.
- Publish the site and verify with axe DevTools in Chrome.
What is aria hidden focus?
The `aria-hidden="true"` attribute tells screen readers to completely ignore an element and everything inside it — as if it doesn't exist. The problem arises when a focusable element (a button, link, or form field) lives inside that hidden container. Keyboard users can still tab into it, but screen-reader users hear nothing because the element has been silenced. This creates a "ghost focus" trap: the keyboard cursor lands on something invisible to assistive technology with no announcement, no label, and no way to understand what it does. WCAG Success Criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) requires that all interactive UI components expose their name and role to assistive technology.
Screen-reader users — who are often blind or have low vision — can get stuck on focusable elements that their software cannot describe, making parts of your store completely unusable for them. This is a direct WCAG 2.1 Level A violation, the most severe tier, meaning it fails the baseline legal accessibility standard referenced in regulations like the ADA (US), EN 301 549 (EU), and the European Accessibility Act. Beyond legal risk, stores with accessibility barriers lose customers: roughly 1 in 4 adults has some disability, and inaccessible checkout flows directly reduce conversions. Automated accessibility tools (axe, Lighthouse, WAVE) flag this as a critical failure, which can surface in legal demand letters and audits.
See the complete Aria hidden focus guide for every platform and the full background.
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