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The WCAG 2.2 Rule a Sticky Header Can Silently Break

A page has a sticky header that stays pinned at the top while the user scrolls. A keyboard user tabs down the page, and at one point the currently focused element scrolls up underneath the sticky header, entirely hidden from view.

Which WCAG 2.2 success criterion does this violate?

Solution

The correct answer is "SC 2.4.11, Focus Not Obscured."

SC 2.4.11 (new in WCAG 2.2) requires that a focused element can't be entirely hidden behind a sticky header, a cookie banner, or another overlapping element — a real, common bug on pages with sticky navigation, since the element can be focused and technically operable while being completely invisible to a sighted keyboard user.

SC 2.5.8 governs target size, not visibility of focus. SC 3.3.8 governs authentication methods, unrelated to sticky headers. SC 2.4.7 (Focus Visible) requires a focus indicator to exist at all, but the specific "hidden behind an overlapping element" scenario is what 2.4.11 was added in WCAG 2.2 to cover.

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