How can you learn about mobile UI accessibility guidelines?

It may come as a surprise to some, but not everyone interacts with mobile devices through touch and tap input. There are other modalities such as screen reader (text to speech) and alternative navigation devices that allow people with differences in vision and mobility to use mobile devices too. Accessibility is about ensuring compatibility with these and other device settings. This matters both for people who already have disabilities, and for those of us who will experience disability down the road.

Accessibility is crucial in the digital landscape as it goes beyond mere convenience; it is a fundamental right that empowers individuals with disabilities to navigate, engage, and contribute in an increasingly digital world, promoting a society where technology is a tool for inclusion rather than a barrier.

In my own words, accessibility is paramount in software development because it rolls out the restriction barrier and makes your app visible worldwide. Making your mobile app accessible to more people has so many advantages which I will just highlight few. Firstly, an accessible app to about 150 countries places the developer and his skills in front of the world, and thus brings more life time opportunities, Secondly, it helps many users to enjoy the services and solutions which your app offers thereby making their lives better. Lastly, more income is achieved.

WCAG and WAI-ARIA are a model for accessibility that originated on the web. These guidelines and implementation methods are accepted as standard in the industry, however it is important to remember that they were not written to apply to native mobile development. Becoming familiar with WCAG and ARIA is a good foundational starting point. The next step I would recommend is to then immerse yourself in the ways that these can be applied to the mobile development ecosystems. There are specific accessibility implementation methods on iOS and Android that are based on these principles but are unique to each in comparison to web.

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) sets forth globally recognized standards, ensuring that web content is perceivable, operable, and understandable for people with disabilities, while WAI-ARIA (Web Accessibility Initiative - Accessible Rich Internet Applications) complements WCAG by providing a framework for enhancing the accessibility of dynamic and interactive web content. Together, they serve as indispensable resources, guiding developers in creating web experiences that are inclusive and accessible to all users.

A good mobile app developer should try to implement WAI-ARIA or WCAG features in at least one of his personal or client apps, just for the experience. The world is moving fastly towards adoption of Artificial Intelligence technologies, and implementing the Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) is very vital as it got some AIn related features like the screen readers, voice assistants, or braille keyboards.

Platform-specific guidelines refer to the design and development standards set by individual operating systems, such as iOS and Android, providing developers with a framework to create consistent, user-friendly, and native experiences tailored to each platform's unique characteristics and user expectations. Following these guidelines ensures that mobile applications seamlessly integrate with the overall look, feel, and functionality of the respective operating system, optimizing user experience and usability.

The platform-specific guidelines is one of the core and ethical working tradition that should be observed and followed by a good developer. We have two major operating systems (Android and IOS) and both have differences in versions, manufacturing, capabilities and platform - specific features, which also differ from each other. In c++ platform - specific features are implemented natively while in Flutter we use the dart.io extension plugin to observe which platform is currently in use and being built for.

User-centered design is an approach that prioritizes the needs, preferences, and experiences of end users throughout the entire design process. It involves understanding user behaviors, gathering feedback, and iteratively refining designs to ensure that the final product is intuitive, accessible, and aligned with user expectations, ultimately leading to enhanced user satisfaction and usability.

I also advice my colleagues that having keen eye to details is one of the best features of a good developer. In all my works, no matter how little the pay is, I always design and deliver the UI as pixel perfect for utmost user friendly experience.

We have lots of online resources and communities with which a good developer can access and deliver a great work always. Some of those communities are: flutter community, react native community, medium, github, stackoverflow, slack dev communities, whatsapp groups for mobile devs, linkedIn, dev.to and lastly great clique of good physical senior developers will go a long way in helping for learning, solving problems, creating new ideas and being updated in the industry.

Online resources, such as Stack Overflow for programming queries, GitHub for collaborative coding, and platforms like Medium and Dev.to for sharing insights, provide vital spaces for professionals and enthusiasts to connect, learn, and stay informed in their respective fields.