What is the difference?
Tabs vs Steps / Stepper
The difference is order. Tabs are equal peers: you enter any of them, in any sequence, and leave whenever you like. Steps are one journey with a beginning and an end. Reaching step three means you finished one and two.
Ask yourself one question
Could the user legitimately start at the last item?
Tabs
التبويباتrole="tablist"Use it when
Showing different facets of one thing: product details, specifications, reviews. None of them is a prerequisite for another.
Full entryالخطوة 2 من 4 · الشحن
Steps / Stepper
مؤشّر الخطواتaria-current="step"Use it when
A sequential process where each part depends on the one before: shipping, then payment, then review. Paying before the shipping address is known makes no sense.
Full entryThe classic mistake
Building a multi-stage signup with role="tablist", so a screen-reader user hears "tab 3 of 4 selected" instead of "step 3 of 4", and assumes they can jump straight to the last one.
Other comparisons