There are 16.1 million disabled people in the UK with their own unique set of circumstances. Whether it be a cognitive challenge or a physical or learning disability, designing apps with accessibility in mind means making them usable for everyone.
Read on for our guide to designing apps with accessibility in mind, and our top tips to improve the experience for every user.
When we create apps that prioritise accessibility, it benefits all users, not just those with disabilities. An intuitive user experience is significant in whether your app will be a success. By designing an app that’s user-friendly, it can increase the time users spend on it and improve retention.
What does an intuitive user experience look like?
Designing apps with accessibility in mind creates an environment where everyone feels welcome, valued and respected. Acknowledging the diverse needs of all users is important in fostering inclusivity.
How can you foster inclusivity when designing an app?
To meet government guidelines, businesses must comply with The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These are a set of internationally recognised guidelines that outline how to make content more accessible to people with disabilities, including blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity and accommodations for learning disabilities and cognitive limitations. Services must achieve WCAG 2.2 level AA to comply. At Zudu, our team of experts ensure that our clients’ products are fully accessible and compliant with WCAG 2.2 principles.
Designing apps with visual accessibility in mind not only helps those with vision impairments, but it can make things easier for those with learning disabilities like dyslexia. Using a text size that offers the zoom feature allows those with low vision to have flexibility in enlarging the text size. It’s also important to remember to build an app with the functionality to change the text size in the app based on user’s own needs. For those with dyslexia, specific fonts can also be easier to read. For instance, fonts like sans serif with clear letters and spacing can be more visually accessible, whereas fonts like serif or italic which have irregular spacing or shaping can be a challenge.
Depending on your audience, it’s important to build an app that’s compatible with screen reading software. This allows users with visual impairments to scan the page and read the content aloud. For screen readers to be able to understand the text, your app should consist of transparent text that explains what you want users to do through the app. At Zudu, our developers are experts in building software that is compatible with screen reading software.
Some examples of screen reading software are:
Prioritising high contrast colours and fonts between the foreground and background is critical when designing an app that’s accessible for those with colour blindness. Using colour simulators and checking tools is a simple way to make sure your app is accessible and meets the WCAG guidelines. It’s important to aim for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text.
Adding alt text to an image takes a matter of seconds, yet it can make all the difference for someone with a visual impairment. It means that if the user is unable to see what the picture looks like, they can use screen reading software or voice search tools to hear the words associated with the image. It’s important your app development team always adds this feature in-app and offers alt text to visuals, especially since AI now offers the ability to write alt text for images taking the burden away from your team.
Designing apps that are auditorily accessible allows users with hearing impairments to fully access and interact with the content. One of the most important app features for users with hearing loss is the ability to read captions and subtitles for audio and video content. Captions and transcripts not only provide the spoken words, but can also indicate tone, background noise and other relevant information. AI tools can automatically provide transcriptions for audio content making this even easier. At Zudu, we use Fireflies.ai to transcribe and summarise meetings.
Often people with hearing impairments rely on visual clues and written information to help them navigate and access information so a well-structured and easily understandable visual layout is crucial when designing your app with accessibility in mind. Simple language and straightforward sentences that are free of jargon can also help with this.
A really simple way to improve the accessibility of your app is by providing an email address or chatbot for communication, as well as a phone number. As technology progresses, telephone communication is becoming less of the norm. Providing multiple contact options for those with a variety of needs improves the overall user experience for everyone, including those with disabilities.
Navigation that takes a lot of steps can be tiring for people with motor disabilities. Limiting the number of taps it takes to get around fosters inclusivity, but it also improves overall user experience and can keep people on your app for longer. It’s also important to allow for plenty of time on the app before screen timeout to give users with motor disabilities enough time to get around.
Buttons with a small hit area can be frustrating for people as it increases the risk of users taking the wrong action, especially for those with motor disabilities. Forms and content should be broken down logically, with clear space and navigation.
When developers design apps with accessibility in mind, it makes the user experience better for everyone, not just those with disabilities. Accessible apps can increase retention and improve time-on-screen, not to mention foster inclusivity. Speak to the team to start designing your accessible app and bring your digital product to life.
