What are the common accessibility and usability issues that software developers should avoid?

1 What are accessibility and usability issues?

Accessibility and usability issues are problems that prevent or hinder users from interacting with your software effectively and efficiently. Accessibility issues affect people with disabilities, such as visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor impairments, who may rely on assistive technologies or alternative input methods to access your software. Usability issues affect all users, regardless of their abilities, and relate to how easy and intuitive your software is to use, learn, and remember.

2 Why are accessibility and usability testing important?

Accessibility and usability testing are important for several reasons. First, they help you comply with legal and ethical standards, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), that require your software to be accessible and usable for everyone. Second, they help you improve your user satisfaction, retention, and loyalty, by providing a positive and inclusive user experience. Third, they help you increase your market reach and competitive advantage, by catering to a diverse and growing population of users with different needs and preferences.

3 How to identify accessibility and usability issues?

Identifying accessibility and usability issues in your software can be done through various methods and tools. Manual testing, for instance, involves testing your software yourself or with other testers, using different devices, browsers, screen sizes, and assistive technologies. Automated testing, on the other hand, involves using software tools that scan your software and generate reports on accessibility and usability errors, warnings, and suggestions. Additionally, user testing involves testing your software with real or representative users and observing how they interact with your software, what difficulties they encounter, and what feedback they provide. Surveys, interviews, questionnaires, or usability tests can be used to collect and analyze user data.

4 How to fix accessibility and usability issues?

Once you have identified the accessibility and usability issues in your software, you need to prioritize and fix them. To do this, you should use semantic and valid HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and follow the web standards and best practices for web development. Additionally, you should use appropriate and descriptive labels, headings, titles, and alt texts for your elements, as well as provide clear and consistent navigation and feedback. Furthermore, you should use contrast, color, font, and layout that are readable, responsive, and adaptable, and avoid using color alone to convey meaning or information. Additionally, you should use keyboard, mouse, and touch inputs that are accessible, usable, and compatible with assistive technologies, and provide keyboard shortcuts, focus indicators, and skip links. Moreover, you should use media, such as images, audio, video, or animations, that are accessible, usable, and compatible with assistive technologies, and provide captions, transcripts, and controls. Finally, you should use forms, dialogs, menus, and other interactive elements that are accessible, usable, and compatible with assistive technologies, and provide error messages, validation, and instructions.

5 How to measure accessibility and usability performance?

After you have fixed the accessibility and usability issues in your software, you need to measure and monitor your accessibility and usability performance. To do this, you can use metrics such as an accessibility score, which reflects how well your software meets the accessibility standards and guidelines, and a usability score, which reflects how well your software meets the usability criteria. Additionally, you can collect qualitative data from user feedback to understand how your users perceive and experience your software, what they like and dislike, and what they suggest for improvement. Tools such as Lighthouse, Axe, System Usability Scale (SUS), and Net Promoter Score (NPS) can help you calculate your scores and compare them with your competitors or goals.