Is Your Mobile App Ghosting a Billion Users?

Imagine throwing a party and forgetting to invite over 1 billion people. ?? Scary thought, right? But that's the reality for many apps today!

According to the World Health Organization , 15% of the world's population lives with some form of disability. If your app isn't accessible, you're not just missing out on potential users—you're shutting the door on them.

??? The Accessibility Haunted House

Picture walking into a haunted house where:

• Flickering lights make everything hard to see (poor color contrast).
• Narrow doorways block your friend’s wheelchair (small touch targets).
• Spooky sounds play with no captions (missing text alternatives).
• Exit signs are written in ghost language (unclear error messages).

Sound terrifying? Accessibility issues can make your app feel just as daunting - and drive users away!

?? Mobile App Accessibility Testing Checklist

To help you navigate this essential aspect of app development, we’ve compiled a checklist to ensure your mobile applications meet accessibility standards:

• Clear Titles & Labels: Ensure all buttons and interactive elements are labeled clearly. Ambiguity is a real fright!
• Color Contrast Magic: Make sure text stands out against the background (aim for a 4.5:1 ratio). Don’t let poor contrast make your content disappear like a ghost!
• Touch Gestures & Haptic Feedback: Incorporate intuitive gestures and provide feedback when users interact. This helps users with limited reading abilities engage easily.
• Consistent Layouts & Navigation: Keep menus and navigation consistent across your app to avoid confusing users.
• Optimize Content for All Screens: Ensure your app is easy to use on both small and large screens. Provide captions for visuals to support users with hearing impairments.

?? How To Get Started With Your First Scan

BrowserStack App Accessibility makes accessibility testing for your mobile applications easy, with no setup required. Here’s how to run your first test:

1. Log in to the BrowserStack App Accessibility dashboard.
2. Start a Session: Choose the device and OS combination you want to test on.
3. Upload Your App and explore the screens you wish to evaluate.
4. Run Workflow Scans: Identify accessibility issues such as missing labels or small touch targets.
5. Generate Reports with annotated screenshots to pinpoint areas for improvement.
6. Review Reports in the dashboard to monitor progress and plan fixes.

Let’s make sure no one is left out in the cold this Halloween. An accessible app isn’t just good practice—it’s good business. Let’s make your app a place where everyone feels welcome!

?? RELATED READS

• Mobile App Accessibility Testing Checklist
• How to Test Natural App Gestures and Interactions
• 10 Most Common Web Accessibility Issues to Solve for

What's Hot at BrowserStack???

• The QA Leadership Summit is back! This time, we’re diving into something that’s on everyone’s mind: Accessibility & AI-led QA. Whether you’re just starting with AI in QA or already pushing boundaries, this summit will provide the strategies you need to stay ahead and build more inclusive experiences.

• BrowserStack was recognized by G2 as the #1 Best Software Company in India for 2024! This award reflects the voice of thousands of happy customers who rated us highly on product experience, ease of use, features, and customer support.

• It’s that exciting time of the year when our remote teams come together to connect, collaborate, and have fun at the Mumbai office. Here's a BTS of our Engineering, Product, and Finance teams having a great time during their onsite meet.

We hope you enjoyed reading this edition of The Quality Loop as much as we did curating it for you. Let us know in the comments below what you want to see in the upcoming editions, we're waiting! ??