Low literacy is a common and often overlooked barrier for many mobile app users. According to UNESCO, about 773 million adults lack basic literacy skills, and many more struggle with reading complex or unfamiliar texts. If you want to make your mobile app more accessible and inclusive for users with low literacy, here are some UX research tips to help you.
The first step to making your mobile app more accessible is to understand who your users are, what their needs and challenges are, and how they use your app. You can use various UX research methods, such as surveys, interviews, usability tests, and analytics, to gather insights about your users' literacy levels, preferences, behaviors, and pain points. You can also use personas, scenarios, and journey maps to create empathy and represent your users' goals and contexts.
Provide training and resources: Offer opportunities for your team to attend workshops, conferences, and training sessions related to UX research. Provide them with access to books, online courses, and industry publications to enhance their knowledge and skills.Encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing: Foster a culture of collaboration within the team and across other departments. Encourage team members to share their experiences, best practices, and learnings with each other. Consider organizing regular knowledge-sharing sessions or creating a shared repository of resources.Promote cross-functional learning: Encourage your team members to work closely with other departments, such as design, engineering, and product management.
I believe understanding your users also goes a long way, by creating a user persona, you're able to understand what level of device literacy your users have
The second step to making your mobile app more accessible is to simplify your content and make it easy to read and understand. You can use plain language, short sentences, active voice, and clear headings to convey your message. You can also use visual aids, such as icons, images, videos, or audio, to support your text and provide alternative ways of communication. You can also use contrast, color, and typography to enhance readability and legibility.
I usually make the experience as simple as can be, depending on the product and industry I am designing for, I would say, reduce the steps and keep steps to completing a task as easy as possible
The third step to making your mobile app more accessible is to design for interaction and make it easy to use and navigate. You can use intuitive and consistent UI elements, such as buttons, menus, tabs, and sliders, to facilitate user input and feedback. You can also use gestures, touch, and voice to enable natural and convenient interaction modes. You can also use clear and concise labels, instructions, and error messages to guide and support your users.
The fourth step to making your mobile app more accessible is to test and iterate your design and content with real users. You can use various UX testing methods, such as moderated or unmoderated tests, remote or in-person tests, or qualitative or quantitative tests, to evaluate your app's accessibility and usability. You can also use accessibility tools, such as screen readers, magnifiers, or color contrast checkers, to simulate different user scenarios and identify potential issues.
Always test, if possible, create a small community from your user groups as beta testers, to help you test, these helps you get feedbacks fast, so you can iterate quickly
The fifth step to making your mobile app more accessible is to learn from others and get inspired by best practices and examples. You can use online resources, such as blogs, podcasts, books, or courses, to learn more about mobile accessibility and inclusion. You can also use benchmarks, reviews, or case studies to see how other apps have addressed low literacy challenges and improved their user experience.
The sixth and final step to making your mobile app more accessible is to keep improving and adapting to your users' needs and expectations. You can use continuous UX research and testing to monitor your app's performance and user satisfaction. You can also use feedback, ratings, or suggestions to collect user opinions and ideas. You can also use updates, notifications, or rewards to inform and engage your users and encourage them to use your app.