Visible focus outline versus ARIA live region announcements in StackBlitz modal dialogs

Answer first

No. The visible focus outline must not be suppressed when an ARIA live region announcement is made, and live region announcements must not be delayed until after the modal closes. A user-configurable setting that lets users choose between the visual indicator and the announcement is not appropriate for the visual indicator.

Confirmed fact: WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.4.7 Focus Visible requires a visible focus indicator for keyboard users. Removing or suppressing the outline on the basis of an announcement is a conformance failure. The visual outline and the screen-reader announcement serve different users and senses; they are not interchangeable.

Likely explanation vs confirmed facts

Confirmed: sighted keyboard users need a visible focus indicator and cannot perceive an ARIA live region. Screen-reader users need the dialog opening to be announced and cannot see the outline. Keeping both is the correct default.

Likely explanation for the perceived conflict: duplicate or noisy feedback is an implementation issue, not a design priority issue. Typical causes are focusing an element inside a live region, re-rendering the dialog title after open, or using both aria-live and role="alert" on the same node. That produces double announcements while the visual indicator is still required.

Steps needed for this case

1. Keep the visible focus indicator always on. Do not use outline:none without a visible replacement. Test in default and forced-colors/high-contrast modes.
2. Move focus to the dialog container with tabindex="-1" or to the first focusable control inside the dialog on open. Use aria-labelledby or aria-label on the dialog for its accessible name.
3. Announce the dialog opening via its accessible name, not via a separate aria-live node. Remove a dedicated live region for "dialog opened" and avoid role="alert" on the dialog.
4. Verify no code path removes the outline when a live region fires. Check CSS for outline suppression tied to modal state.

Verification to run: open the modal with keyboard only and confirm a clearly visible focus indicator in default and forced-colors mode; with NVDA or VoiceOver confirm the dialog title is announced exactly once on open with no repeat or delay.

One missing diagnostic detail that changes the recommendation: does the current StackBlitz modal use a separate aria-live element to announce opening, or does it rely solely on aria-labelledby on the dialog? If a separate live region is used for the opening announcement, it should be removed in favor of the dialog's accessible name.