Use a screen reader with a blog created in SharePoint Online

This article is for people with visual or cognitive impairments who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Microsoft 365 screen reader support content set where you can find more accessibility information on our apps. For general help, visit Microsoft Support.

Note: SharePoint classic blogs are being retired. Beginning January 18th, 2020, the classic blog site template name will change to "Blogs (retired)". Beginning July 17th, 2020, the ability to create new classic blog sites through the user interface will be turned off.

For an alternative to classic blogs, see Creating a blog with communication sites and news posts.

Use SharePoint in Microsoft 365 with your keyboard and a screen reader to move around typical blog content, hear an entire post, comment on or like a blog post, search for content, and so on. We have tested it with Narrator, JAWS, and NVDA, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques.

A blog in SharePoint in Microsoft 365 is a great tool for announcing company news and events, or sharing ideas, observations, and expertise within your team or organization, just to name a few uses.

Notes:

New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
When you use SharePoint in Microsoft 365, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because SharePoint in Microsoft 365 runs in your web browser, the keyboard shortcuts are different from those in the desktop program. For example, you’ll use Ctrl+F6 instead of F6 for jumping in and out of the commands. Also, common shortcuts like F1 (Help) and Ctrl+O (Open) apply to the web browser – not SharePoint in Microsoft 365.

In this topic

Get started: tab order and default content in a blog
Tools for blog authors
Navigate in a blog on SharePoint Online
Common blog actions

Get started: tab order and default content in a blog

When an author creates a blog in SharePoint in Microsoft 365, they typically use the Blog template, which inserts default content (in Web Parts) in the blog, as well as the following default web pages:

A home page for the blog
A page for every blog post
A page for every blog category
A page for every monthly blog archive

Tab order for default pages

The following sections describe the tab order for each web page. Knowing the tab order can make it much easier for you to move around each page.

Tab order for blog pages

Every page has the following default content, listed in tab order:

Default graphic that links to the blog home page.
Home link to the blog home page.
Search this site box.
Categories list. This contains links to the Events, Ideas, and Opinions categories, and if you are the blog author a link to Add Category.
Archives list organized by month and a link to Older Posts.

Home page

The Home page lists all blog posts in descending chronological order. Each post includes:

Title, author name, and list of blog categories
Comments link
Like and Unlike links
Email a link
(Author only) More button, which includes an Edit link
RSS Feed link
Alert Me link

Web page for a blog post

This list shows the tab order for a blog post web page:

Title of the blog post
Blog author’s name
Names of the categories to which the blog post belongs
Like link or Unlike link
Comment link
More list, which contains a link to Email a link

Note: If you are the blog author, the More list also contains the Edit links.
Add a comment text box, where you can type a comment
Post button (to post your comment)
All comments for the blog

Category page

This page lists all blog posts in the category. Each post shows the title of the blog post, the blog author’s name, and the names of the categories to which the blog post belongs.

Monthly blog archive page

This page shows all blog posts for the month. Each post shows the title of the blog post, the blog author’s name, and the names of the categories to which the blog post belongs.

Tools for blog authors

If you are the author of the blog you are using, after the elements for the final post on every webpage of the blog, additional authoring elements are included. The Blog Tools list provides access to the following links:

Create a post
Manage posts
Manage comments
Manage categories
Launch blogging app
Choose post layout box (Basic, Boxed, and Inline options).

Navigate in a blog on SharePoint Online

To move between the main elements in a blog:

Navigational links

To move directly to and select the navigational links on a blog page, press the Tab key until you hear “Skip ribbon commands,” and then press Enter.
Main content

To move directly to and select the main content on a blog page, immediately after you open the page, press the Tab key until you hear “Skip to main content link,” and then press Enter.
Each element on a page

To move from one page element to the next, press the Tab key. To move back, press Shift+Tab. As the focus moves to each element, you hear the name of the element.
Blog home page

To move to the blog home page, press Alt+1. You hear: “Home,” followed by the name of the blog.
Blog posts on the home page

To move from one post to another on the home page, you must navigate through the informational elements of each post (such as title, categories, and comments) by pressing the Tab key or Shift+Tab. As the focus moves to the title of a post, you hear the post’s name followed by “Link.” As the focus moves to each of the other elements of the post, you hear the name of the element followed by “Link.” To select one of the post’s elements, press Enter.
Tips:
- When the focus moves to the Comments link for a blog post, in addition to hearing “Comments,” you hear the total number of comments for the post.
- To find out which informational elements are included with all blog posts, go to Get started: tab order and default content in a blog in this article.
Blog posts in a particular category

By default, in the tab order on a blog page, the Categories list is after the Search button. Press the Tab key until you hear “Search button.” Press the Tab key again to move the focus to the links in the Categories list. You hear the name of each category followed by “Link.” To select a category, press Enter.
Blog posts in a particular month

By default, in the tab order on a blog page, the Archives list is located below the Categories list. Press the Tab key until you hear the last category name, or "Add category," if you're the blog author, followed by “Link.” Press the Tab key again to move the focus to the links in the Archives list. You hear “Archives, Link.” As you continue to press the Tab key for each month in the list, you hear the name of the month followed by “Link.” The last link in the Archives list is Older Posts and when you reach it, you hear “Older Posts, Link.” To select a month, press Enter.

Common blog actions

Hear a blog post and its comments

On the home page, a category page, or an archive page for the blog, move the focus to the title of the blog post you want to open. You hear the post’s title followed by “Link.”
Press Enter to open the blog post on its own page. You hear the title of the blog post. To hear the blog author’s name, the contents of the post, and each comment for the post along with the name of the person who posted the comment, press the Tab key until you hear the information you want.

Comment on a blog post

Move the focus to the title of the blog post on which you want to comment. You hear the post’s title followed by “Link.”
To move the focus to the Add a comment text box for the post, use either of the following two methods:
- If you are on the blog’s home page, press the Tab key until you hear the total number of comments for the blog post, and then “Comments.” Press Enter. The individual page for the post opens. Press the Tab key until you hear: “Edit, Type text.”
- If you are already on the individual page for the post, press the Tab key until you hear “Comment.” Press Enter. You hear: “Editing.”
Enter your comment.
To post the comment, press the Tab key until you hear “Post,” and then press Enter.

Like a blog post

On the blog’s home page or the individual page for a post, move the focus to the title of the blog post you like. You hear the post’s title followed by “Link.”
Press the Tab key until the focus moves to the Like link and you hear “Like, Link.” Press Enter. You hear: “Unlike.” To unlike a post you have previously liked, navigate to the Unlike link, and then press Enter.

Search for content

To move the focus to the Search this site text box, press the Tab key until you hear “Search this site.”
Enter your search term, and then press Enter. The focus moves to a new page (opened in the same tab) that contains your search results.
Press the Tab key until you hear the title of the result you want, and then press Enter.

Follow a blog

After you open a blog created in SharePoint in Microsoft 365 in a web browser, the focus moves to the web page, which is open in a tab in the browser. You hear the name of the tab and the name of the browser you’re using.
To move the focus to the Follow button, press the Tab key until you hear “Follow,” and then press Enter.

Following a blog adds a link to it on your Sites page in the Sites I'm following section.

Technical support for customers with difficulties

Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.

If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk.