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Screen reader users have multiple ways of navigating within a page. Screen reader users can navigate from heading to heading, get a list of links organized alphabetically, use the tab key to navigate to links and form controls, and search within the page for keywords, among other methods.
Why do screen readers read so fast?
The synthesis method used for screen reader voices makes it possible to speed up the speech output without increasing the pitch, so you can set the speed quite fast. In fact, at this speed, screen reader users can read documents faster than sighted users reading with their eyes.
When is it better to paginate and not to?
When each page represents some meaningful chunk, such as list of items starting with certain letter (s) or a certain chapter/section of a document etc., then pagination is better. If the page does not have any meaning, such as numbered pages of a long list, then (infinite) scroll is better.
What’s the best way to focus on a page?
Keyboard users navigate through pages by pressing the TAB key to move focus through each focusable element, such as links and form controls. Navigating through repeated blocks of content on each page, such as headers and menus, can be tedious. Websites should provide skip links to bypass repeated blocks and move focus to each page’s main content.
Screen readers in table navigation mode inform the user how many rows and columns are in a data table. Users can navigate in any direction from cell to cell in table navigation mode. If the table is marked up correctly, the screen reader will read the column and/or row heading as the user enters each new cell.
What’s the best way to jump from page to page?
One way is to use the Tab key to jump from link to link. This gives the user an idea of where the page links to, and can be a useful way to run through the content if the user is looking for a specific link. A related technique is to obtain a list of the links on the page, arranged alphabetically.