The “Inappropriate Presentational Role Check” evaluates whether there is any element with a presentational role (e.g., role="presentation" or aria-hidden="true") containing a focusable content.
Example outcome
I identified 1 element with presentation children that has focusable content.
Impact
Visual Impairments: Assistive tech may skip the presentational container but then unexpectedly encounter focusable items inside it, creating a disjointed or broken experience. Focusable children may appear “out of context” or with no meaningful parent or label.
Motor Impairments: The keyboard may tab into elements that don’t appear to have any function or context visually or semantically.
Cognitive Disabilities: Unexpected behavior when navigating can cause disorientation or cognitive overload, especially in complex layouts.
Fixes
To address children elements with focusable content inside a container with a presentational role:
Locate the focusable element.
Remove the element from the presentational container.
If it must be inside the container, remove or replace the presentational role from the container.