Accessibility Is Important
Nearly 15% of the global population has some form of impairment or disability. Mobile apps have become an indispensable part of our everyday lives and it is frightening that one in seven may not have access to all key features available to other app users.
Assuming accessibility as optional in mobile app development is a popular misperception. Both Android and iOS provide tools that developers can use to ensure an accessible mobile experience for people of all abilities - not only those living with disability. Not only voice assistants like Alexa and Siri benefit from accessibility tools offered on both operating systems. Haptic feedback, including vibration feedback provided through Material Design guidelines by Google, also benefits people using apps while driving or doing laundry without touching their smartphones directly.
Moral considerations aside, being more inclusive can increase user acquisition; and from a business owner point of view attracting those additional 15% users makes sense from both moral and fiscal perspectives. Government agencies also codify laws and regulations mandating equal access for all potential users - something we will discuss further down in this discussion.
One may question why accessibility, with such positive implications for apps, is so often neglected. There are two possible explanations. Android and iOS both boast rapidly evolving ecosystems which means new accessibility features are constantly being implemented across their respective platforms, developers often lack experience when trying out these native features so designing and testing can become cumbersome, finally there is no set standard for mobile accessibility like there is for websites using Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Understanding Accessibility
What exactly is accessibility? Accessibility refers to designing digital products so as to be fully accessible for people living with disabilities or impairments - these conditions may take different forms and we will discuss some here.
Visualize The Future
Accessing mobile applications that have not been tailored for visual impairment users can be challenging for people living with color blindness, loss of vision or complete blindness; sound is used instead as an information substitute and screen readers provide sound-based replacement for visual information.
Hearing
No matter their hearing impairment or deafness, users can always have a seamless user experience with videos and sound clips by including transcripts and captions for them.
Mobility
Physical limitations may make navigating mobile applications challenging, which is why users need the flexibility of customizing tapping or gestures so that they are not tied to one specific action or gesture. A mandatory gesture shouldn't limit app's navigational behavior as physical motor limitations shouldn't restrict app's navigational behavior. Android and iOS both allow users to set shortcuts for frequently-used words or phrases as well as timing between screen presses as well as configuring buttons or triggers within apps for customization purposes.
Literacy
Accessibility issues related to learning disabilities like (functional) illiteracy or innumeracy or digital illiteracy is often underestimated and underestimated in developing nations alone. It doesn't just impact those living there either! The Dutch government estimates that one out of nine citizens between 18 and 65 have difficulty reading and writing. According to a survey, 1 out of 7 Americans met or fell below basic prose literacy threshold while one out of every 5 citizens also fell short in quantitative literacy levels.
Apps designed with easy language and clear, culturally identifiable iconography may prove particularly helpful to these users. Also voice feedback may prove more effective. While accessibility solutions tailored toward various disabilities listed here can make an application accessible, ideally all aspects should be taken into consideration to guarantee everyone enjoys an optimal user experience when developing and designing mobile applications.
Best Practices
After identifying potential obstacles that limit accessibility, we can consider potential solutions.Consistency is of utmost importance in UX design for users with disabilities, yet is particularly essential when you can't see your screen; without being able to locate home buttons that have been improperly placed it becomes harder and harder for these individuals to locate them.
Avoid creating an inconsistent user experience across different interfaces; ensure a uniform UX for touch, sight and hearing interactions as well.Please keep this in mind: Accessibility features may enhance your app, but they should only be utilized to aid disabled users when interacting with it. Their purpose should not be abused to create easter eggs (the result being confusion for users who use these features as Easter Eggs!).
Navigation
Buttons and URLs shouldn't be placed directly onto the screen; actions should be clearly distinguished as such and separated from text by using underlining/bold font styles to highlight them as separate actions. Text styles can also be changed (e.g. font size changes to differentiate). These actions will further be clarified through underline/bold style texting.
Consistency was discussed earlier, yet navigation requires special care and consideration. A consistent layout is especially valuable to users with cognitive disabilities - when an app meets Google Material Design Guidelines or Apple Human Interface Guidelines even blind users can easily understand its layout instantly.
Warn Users When Navigating External Environments When an action leads your users away from your application and into external environments, make sure they receive an alert so they don't close it unwittingly!
UI
Keep in mind that your mobile app may be seen at different resolutions and users may zoom up to 200%; to ensure a positive user experience. Therefore, testing it at various resolutions should be part of its development cycle.Color contrast should be clear. Placing light text against black or white backgrounds makes reading hard; for those with visual impairments it might even be impossible.
The Content On This Page
Consider both text color and font style when making decisions for text colors or font styles, particularly fancy fonts which might appeal to some but be unreadable for others. Fonts with curly or cursive styles must be approached with caution - if in doubt use one from our guidelines as suggested font.
Images may detract from user experience if an app does not adapt for accessibility, particularly those used solely as decorative decoration. Even worse is adding non decorative images with no purpose other than decoration without providing content descriptions to describe these pictures. Users with visual impairments will have an equal experience as everyone else since text-to-speech readers on their android devices convert text into audio format, while image descriptions should describe what's going on within each picture. Image descriptions provide valuable contextual context.
A description text shouldn't repeat text from its immediate surroundings or repeat phrases that might cause users to become confused by repeated phrases that mimic what's on-screen - this might even lead them to believe there's a bug.Accessibility tools must disregard decorative images without additional contextual info.
Accessibility must always be prioritized when adapting audio and video content for adaptation purposes. All controls on media players should be accessible to everyone - hearing impaired individuals must have control of volume adjustments while those without volume controls need transcriptions of clips for listening enjoyment.
Testing
Professional software products should always undergo rigorous tests prior to their deployment in order to guarantee quality and ensure users with disabilities will enjoy a positive UX designer experience. A tester can confirm if accessibility tools have been correctly implemented if this applies, additionally a beta group of testers might help; these can be found through local or college organizations as well as universities.
Android And Ios: Differences Between The Two Operating Systems
All (mobile) platforms adhere to universal accessibility principles; software programs should be accessible and user-friendly on each platform, offering accessibility options tailored specifically for its audience. In this section we outline major distinctions between two major mobile platforms.
Screen Readers
Screen readers are designed to transform text into speech in order to enable those with learning disabilities and visual impairments to access the same information, providing users with hearing impairments a way of hearing instead of reading information. Each platform features their own version - Android has Google Voice Assistant, TalkBack while iOS utilizes VoiceOver, each uses gesture navigation so newly highlighted components will be read aloud automatically while hierarchy is determined based on component order from left to right and top to bottom, both platforms share similar gestures for navigation purposes.
Differences In Keyboards
Android and iOS differ when it comes to keyboard usage. Users of Android can navigate using a Bluetooth keyboard - similar to using desktop software - while VoiceOver must be activated on iOS for operation solely via keyboard; as well as some limitations in navigation when compared with Android; additionally Android offers external Braille keyboard support with BrailleBack.
Accessibility And The Law
The EU is exploring methods of increasing accessibility through regulation. Their proposed law, The European Accessibility Act (EAA), which seeks to increase service and product accessibility and accessibility is intended for implementation once approved fully by the European Parliament and Member State legislature. Once this act becomes lawful and implemented by all of them in full force, three years should pass for developing explicit rules specifically targeting people living with disabilities within Europe.Offering your product to all will not only be ethical but will be ahead of the legal curve as well.
Read more: Hybrid App Frameworks That Can Enhance App Development
Ten Tips and Tricks for Making Your App More Accessible
Let me provide 10 helpful hints that will assist with making your app more user-friendly, including looking over the Android Accessibility Guide to gain further knowledge about all its accessibility features.
1. Color Contrast Ratios
Why is high contrast important between colors? People with visual impairments, like color blindness - as mentioned at the outset of this story - find it challenging to view an entire screen when there are issues in their viewing environment.
Make sure your users can easily use your app by choosing a color contrast ratio of no less than 4.5:1 for regular text and 3:2 for large text - 14pt bold text size will do for large texts while 18pt non-bold can also work! Apple provides their accessibility inspector as part of their toolkit which lets you test color contrast ratios of user interfaces.
2. Dynamic Type And Auto Layout
Your app will adjust automatically according to any font size selected by a user, using auto layout rules and any font size they find comfortable - your desired result. As soon as font size increases, the App Store App automatically adapts the layout accordingly. When font sizes increase, layout automatically adapts itself for greater legibility.
Supporting Dynamic Type requires:
- Use the system font with text styles, or use a scaled version of a custom font before applying a text style.
- Set the adjust Fonts For Content Size Category to true for all text elements.
- Use Auto Layout to wrap text and expand its container.
3. Tap The Target
Unwittingly liking someone else's Instagram photo only to realize later who had double-tapped on it is awkward - don't force users to tap small buttons. This issue can be overcome by App Development Tools increasing the size of your tap target to at least 44x44 points, equivalent to approximately that of an average human fingertip. Furthermore, place them 32 points apart so as not to accidentally trigger action they didn't intend. This size target is especially helpful for users with low vision or motor impairment.
4. Standardize UI Components When Possible
Before creating custom elements, first consider standard UI components as they include accessibility features out-of-the-box that your users are already used to using; these gestures and controls work perfectly with VoiceOver for navigation purposes and user interaction is simplified as all navigation gestures and controls work similarly in VoiceOver mode. When developing custom elements ensure they're just as accessible as standard platform versions for maximum accessibility and user adoption.
5. Use Multiple Communication Modes To Communicate Important Information
Imagine this: Imagine you are blind or have limited vision and just opened an app for food delivery, prompting a login screen containing both an email address and password field for authentication; once complete you tap "Log In," which takes you directly back into the same screen where your menu item exists.
Your email address contains an error, yet it goes undetected by you. Users noticing it have noted its color has changed from blue to red - an obvious indicator that its designer did not consider visually-impaired users when designing this screen.
Designers typically rely on only one communication mode when altering an email address's color; we now recognize this is insufficient; two modes could greatly enhance this screen.Clicking the login button causes text colors to alter, while an error message pops up below your text box. As visually-impaired users, how should we know when an error message pops up?
VoiceOver would make an invaluable addition to the project. When an invalid data field is entered by a VoiceOver user, then its display should indicate this with "Unable submit!" Invalid email address. Congratulations! Now there are three methods of conveying information!
Why utilize different modes of communication? No two users prefer identical communication channels; therefore it is impossible to know the perfect mode. Color changes alone won't do when conveying vital information - your user could have low vision or be color blind! Therefore pairing modes is one effective strategy to do just this, using color, content placement, VoiceOver announcements and haptic feedback as necessary to deliver important messages effectively and with success.
6. Text Is Text And Images Are Images
You might think this is obvious, but there are many apps that display fancy text on images. Sort your images into the three categories below. If you have an image that fits into one of these categories, do not display any text.
- Images are provided by users (e.g. Instagram) Instagram)
- Images can convey information (e.g. tab bar icon)
- The image is purely decorative (e.g. logo)
Please consider this: VoiceOver will not be able read the text if you display text on an image. The text size will not increase (even if you support dynamic types) and the text will not be localized.
7. Test And Audit With Voiceover
App Development Tools include a very useful software called Accessibility Inspector. The Accessibility inspector can audit each screen of your app, and give you a list with accessibility issues that you need to fix. The Accessibility Inspector will provide you with some tips to fix each issue.
Test your app with VoiceOver. This is another important step to improving its accessibility. You need to know how to use VoiceOver before you can test your app. Here are the most essential gestures:
- You can move the cursor by sliding or swiping your finger.
- Double-tap to select an item.
- Scroll the screen with 3 finger swipes.
You're now ready to test your app. Here is a guide to a simple test scenario.
Can you:
- How to navigate anywhere in your app?
- What if you tap every item that can be tapped?
- Can you hear every word of the text?
- What if you could hear every word that is spoken?
You can usually fix VoiceOver's misunderstandings by making a simple adjustment or marking an element as an accessibility element. These two fixes will not take much time, but they can make a huge difference for users who are visually or motorically impaired.
8. Simple UI
As a rule of thumb, an intuitive user experience (e.g. Snapchat) is preferred over complex ones. Navigable designs provide your users with easy navigation; doing this helps avoid confusion and clutter as well. Finally, keep your color scheme straightforward to prevent overwhelming them.
Why is having an intuitive user interface so important? A straightforward UI takes into account users of all ages and abilities when designing its visual elements, including those with cognitive disabilities who find navigating difficult. In the worst-case scenario, they could become disenfranchised with your app altogether if its design becomes overwhelming or complicated enough that users become confused enough that they stop using it altogether! Since colors remain constant across users and applications alike - keep things straightforward!
9. Don't Get Too Excited About Gestures
Please keep in mind that gestures, while distinctive and engaging, must first be learned and discovered. Doing this takes some practice as well as dexterity - custom gestures don't stay the same across apps either! Think of gestures as something extra; think of them as extra treats on top.
Gestures should make life simpler for users and save them time; there should always be an easy alternative that achieves the same purpose without using gestures. In order to prevent unexpected behavior from arising from hand gestures alone, any destructive action must first receive confirmation from users via asking them.
Why should one use gestures with caution? VoiceOver, being a gesture-based system, might cause any new gesture you use to conflict with one of its custom gestures or versions thereof. Complex gestures also present unique challenges for those living with motor disorders - they might accidentally trigger one accidentally or struggle completing complex movements.
10. Communication With Your Users
Speak directly with users. Communicating directly with users should be of primary concern when considering accessibility for those living with low vision, hearing impairment or motor disabilities. We rarely encounter such people.
Meet someone and hear about how UX affects them personally and the experiences others share, giving you insight into how people use phones differently from yours. It can be truly eye-opening.
If you want to reach out to all users, provide them with an avenue of contact between yourself and them in case there are accessibility problems with the application or website they use. Twitter, email, Instagram are great ways for this; what works for one group may not work so well for another. Connecting with users directly allows them to provide input about what exactly their users require from it so you can improve it further.Contacting you should be effortless; advocate for accessibility.
Conclusion
Develop your mobile app with accessibility in mind to provide users with an exceptional user experience. Accessibility has numerous financial, moral, and legal benefits and Android and iOS both offer various tools that make integrating accessibility easy - it should not be ignored. We offer a wide range of mobile app development services, including building custom apps on iOS and Android platforms, designing user experiences, and integrating novel interfaces.
