The challenges to creating accessible products

While every solution has its own unique accessibility issues, there are several that most will encounter.

The first is a general lack of awareness, with accessibility often being sidelined in the early stages of development. Put simply, developers may not fully consider, understand, or have experience in the range of disabilities and the assistive technologies that users rely on. This ‘complexity of needs’ means that it is essential to address multiple disabilities, and this can require a deep understanding of each disability and how users interact with technology. Whether visual impairments (screen reader compatibility, color contrast), motor limitations (keyboard navigation, alternative input methods), or dyslexia (clear fonts, uncluttered layouts), etc., all need to be considered.

This makes it difficult not only to provide a one-size-fits-all solution, but also to comply with accessibility laws.

Which brings us to compliance and standards. But it’s not just about knowing the regulations backwards and being compliant so you can avoid legal issues and penalties, it’s also about keeping up with these evolving regulatory guidelines. If your team is slow to adapt, your solution will suffer.

Not to mention testing that it all works! Thorough accessibility testing can be complex and time-consuming, and automation and simulators can’t fully capture the real-world experiences of users (and certainly cannot guarantee compliance). And what about gathering meaningful feedback from a wide range of people for usability testing? Can you tell if you’ve successfully balanced your visual design and aesthetics with functional accessibility requirements? Do your accessibility features compromise the overall user experience for other users? Are you able to test with a diverse enough group of people to ensure full accessibility?

And that’s just scratching the surface. But if you want to reach the 16% of the world’s population (according to the World Health Organization) who have significant disabilities and avoid legal and reputational issues, each challenge must be addressed.

That means doing a lot more than using a web accessibility checker or WCAG contrast checker!

How crowdtesting can help

If you’re not familiar with crowdtesting, you can read all about it here, but for a quick overview, it’s using real people, in real conditions, from any country, at any time, using their own devices (or ones provided by you) to test your digital solution. At Testbirds, we have access to over 1 million testers with over 1.5 million devices.

In fact, it’s this diverse pool of testers that arguably makes the biggest impact when it comes to ensuring accessibility. Using testers with different disabilities allows for practical and applicable insights and a more comprehensive assessment of accessibility barriers. Who better to test website accessibility than someone with accessibility issues? No automated test or internal team can do this to the depth and scale required.

Crowdtesting complements your in-house team(s) by providing access to diverse users with different experiences, expectations, and needs – not to forget the wide range of devices, operating systems, and real-world conditions that your-house team cannot replicate. Importantly, it lets you effortless receive direct and honest feedback from people with various disabilities, which is crucial for comprehensive accessibility testing.

Crowdtesting can actually be more cost-effective than traditional methods because it reduces the need for specialized in-house resources and infrastructure. And by helping to identify and fix accessibility issues early, it helps avoid costly redesigns, redevelopment, and potential legal liabilities associated with non-compliance and potential negative reviews.

All testers are vetted to ensure they have the proven expertise and experience required (and live in the right areas, have the correct devices, and much more, including any specific disability you need to test for accessibility).

Our platform, the Nest, also enables both moderated and unmoderated testing options. Moderated sessions involve a facilitator guiding users through tasks and asking questions in real-time, which is particularly useful for complex tasks or to gain deeper insights into user thought processes. Conversely, unmoderated testing allows users to complete tasks independently at their own pace. This can be a faster and more cost-effective option for identifying basic accessibility issues.

Crowdtesting for Accessibility Testing - Real-world input for real results

Let’s also consider four scenarios where real-world input from a crowdtester with a disability can help:

1. A visually impaired user is using a screen reader to navigate an e-commerce site. The problem? He struggles with unclear alt text descriptions on product images and complicated page layouts that are difficult to navigate using keyboard shortcuts.
   Based on input from a crowdtester with a similar disability, the site’s alt text descriptions can be improved to be more descriptive, and the layout can be redesigned to be more screen reader-friendly with logical tab sequences and landmarks.
2. A user with a motor disability uses speech recognition software to log into a mobile banking application. The problem? The voice commands for logging in are inconsistent, and the small touch targets for entering passwords make it difficult for her to interact with the app.
   Based on input from a crowdtester with a similar disability, the app includes more reliable voice command options for authentication and increases the size of the touch targets to improve accessibility for other users with motor impairments.
3. A user who is deaf or hard of hearing accesses video lectures on an online learning platform. The problem? They find that many videos lack accurate captioning, making it difficult to follow the content.
   Based on input from a crowdtester with a similar disability, the platform implements a robust captioning system that ensures all videos have accurate and synchronized captions and provides transcripts for audio content.
4. A user with cognitive impairments uses a social media app to post updates and interact with friends. The problem? She struggle with the app’s complex language and confusing iconography, which makes it difficult to understand how to post updates and navigate settings.
   Based on input from a crowdtester with a similar impairment, the app simplifies its language, uses more intuitive icons, and provides tooltips and guides to help users navigate the platform.

Whether you want to test web page accessibility, test PDF accessibility, your app’s registration form’s accessibility, or a million other accessibility areas, crowdtesting is invaluable tool to ensure your solutions can be used by everyone.