3 min article

eBay for users with special access needs

We’re committed to making eBay more accessible to members of all abilities. This includes eBay members with special access needs, such as the visually and hearing impaired, as well as those with limited dexterity and cognitive disabilities.

We’re always striving to make our site more accessible and do so in a number of ways:

  • We make links on our site descriptive and provide alternative text for images to help people using assistive technology, like screen reader software
  • We consider accessibility when we design new eBay pages or update existing pages
  • We increase the contrast between fonts and backgrounds to make pages easier to read
  • We make eBay easier to navigate without using a mouse

Using your keyboard to navigate eBay

You can use the following keyboard commands to help navigate eBay:

  • Tab: Move to the next interactive item (link, button, input, etc.)
  • Shift+Tab: Move to the previous interactive item
  • Arrow Keys (Up, Down, Left, Right): Navigate within some page component
  • Enter: Interact with items on the page

You can also use Space and Arrow keys on some page components.

Skip to main content

There are common links inside the header at the top of every eBay page to make it easier for all users to navigate eBay.com.

The first of these is a “Skip to main content” link that goes directly to the main content of the page. Once it receives keyboard focus, the content is visually presented on the page.

Tip
On the eBay homepage, we automatically move focus into the Search field to make shopping on eBay quicker and easier. To get to the “Skip to main content” link on the homepage, you’ll need to press Shift+Tab from the Search field.

Screen reader or browser combinations

eBay’s accessibility team advises using one of the following screen reader or browser combinations while using eBay:

  • JAWS with Chrome on Windows
  • NVDA with Firefox on Windows
  • VoiceOver with Safari on Mac OS

Note: Microsoft will no longer be supporting Internet Explorer 11. As of 17 August 2021, customers using IE 11 with eBay may have a degraded experience.

You’ll find extra information for using these screen readers through the following links:

Tip
When we use non-standard keyboard shortcuts, we display the shortcuts on the page either directly or in a help or information button near the widget that needs the non-standard keyboard shortcuts.

Using a screen reader to navigate eBay

eBay members using screen readers can navigate eBay using keyboard navigation, as well as the following:

Landmarks and headings

Use landmarks and headings to quickly navigate an eBay page. Most eBay pages have landmarks for the following parts of the page:

  • Header
  • Main content
  • Footer (sometimes called “content information” by screen readers)

Keyboard shortcuts for navigating via landmarks and headings

You can use the following keyboard shortcuts to navigate:

  • JAWS: R (go to next landmark or region)
  • JAWS: H (go to next heading)
  • NVDA: D (go to next landmark)
  • NVDA: H (go to next heading)
  • VoiceOver: Control+Option+Command+H (go to next heading)

You can use the Shift key to reverse the direction of these keyboard shortcuts. For example, if the H key goes to the next heading, then Shift+H will take you back to the previous heading.

If you have any issues on our site, our customer support agents will be happy to help. You can find our contact options at the bottom of the page.

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