What is the method to visually hide an element while keeping it accessible to screen readers?

Using visibility: hidden; is the method that allows you to visually hide an element while keeping it accessible to screen readers. When an element is set to visibility: hidden;, it is still part of the document's flow and retains its semantic meaning, which ensures that assistive technologies like screen readers can still access and read the content. This is important for maintaining accessibility standards, as it allows blind or visually impaired users to receive information that sighted users cannot see.

In contrast, using display: none; removes the element from the document flow entirely, making it inaccessible to screen readers, which can lead to a significant loss of information for users who rely on these technologies. Similarly, opacity: 0; hides the element visually but still allows it to occupy space in the document flow; however, like display: none;, it does not provide any special considerations for screen reader accessibility. Lastly, while z-index: -1; can change the stacking order of elements, it does not affect visibility or accessibility, leaving those elements in the document and visually present but behind other content.