Should screen readers read the content without tab or with tab?

screen reader
1

I am designing a web application accessible to visually impaired users. This application includes multiple pages, each potentially featuring paragraphs with links, form input fields, collapsible sections, and buttons.

When a user loads a page, should screen readers automatically read the content sequentially, from top to bottom, element by element?

Or, should users navigate manually using the tab key, allowing the screen reader to announce only the content at the current focus point?

2

This behavior is best left to the screenreader settings of individual users. The screenreader behavioe also varies from software to softeware so it is hard to control that from a UX end. The best thing you can do from your end is making sure that the focus starts at the top of the page on load and the screenreader user will switch between just reading everything on the page or interacting with the content on the page step by step depending on their needs.