Which technique allows content to be read by screen readers but hidden from sighted users?

• A. Display: none
• B. Offscreen/visually-hidden techniques
• C. Visibility: hidden
• D. Absolute positioning with negative z-index

Answer: (B)

Offscreen/visually-hidden content is designed to be read by screen readers while remaining invisible to sighted users. The technique moves or clips the element so it sits outside the visible page (or otherwise hidden in the visual layout) but stays in the DOM and accessible via assistive technologies. This lets you provide textual descriptions for icons, labels for controls, or skip links without cluttering the visual interface.

Why this approach is best: it preserves accessibility without displaying extra text. Other methods either remove the content from accessibility tools (like display: none) or hide it in ways that can still be exposed to screen readers (such as visibility: hidden or certain positioning tricks), making the content unreadable or unreliable for assistive tech.