Trello is a project-management website with a subscription-based model, ranging from free to $17.50 per month. On Trello, you can create tasks and teams, stay on track with projects, and collaborate to make an effective workforce. It’s especially popular for remote teams. But is it accessible?
To find out, let’s look at the website, mobile app, and subscriber emails from Trello to find out how accessible Trello is.
Website
Trello's homepage is very accessible, especially when used with assistive technology like screen readers. As required in the WCAG, the homepage is easily navigable, allowing users to find their place on the page quickly. The navigation bar at the top is not hoverable but requires clicks and stays expanded, which is very accessible for people using keyboard navigation.
It’s unclear whether Trello has an accessibility policy. There isn’t any accessibility page listed on the main website, and a Google search doesn’t bring up any official statement. There are some opinion pieces and some how-tos about how to get around some inaccessible features.
Once you get into the meat of the website and begin using it, there are some accessibility issues. There is no logical layout for the edit fields, which is not compliant with the WCAG. It should clarify for the user whether the edit fields are part of creating a list or are search fields, especially when using assistive technology. Furthermore, the website works differently from browser to browser, and there isn't much consistency, which is important for accessibility.
Mobile app
The mobile app is much clearer and more straightforward after login than the website is. Three-finger swipes are used to navigate tasks, notifications, and categories at the bottom of the screen. The boards are displayed as buttons and are easy to tap and open with either fingers or a stylus.
Everything is also easy to edit and hard to mess up. A double tap will allow you to edit tasks, lists, and categories, making them easy to save. Though the search function lacks voice search, the app is compatible with assistive technology like Dragon Anywhere, which is helpful for people with disabilities for whom typing is difficult.
The app isn’t perfect, however. It's hard to tell how things are placed on the screen - icons tend to be cut off as if screen sizes weren't considered when developing. The app is also not always responsive to touch, sometimes freezing. This is worse when combined with assistive technology, making the whole app experience slow and frustrating. So, although the app is more accessible than the website, it can be hard to use.
Emails
Trello’s emails seem to have some contrast. The color of the text is good: it’s bright white, with links in standard blue. The background, however, is a dull gray, and the words don’t pop as well as they could. It’s unclear if the contrast ratio is accurate, but it doesn’t seem as good as it could be. The logo is washed out and hard to read.
Text size, however, complies with WCAG. It is spaced evenly and neatly in large, legible letters. The email is also clear, making the words the main focus and very readable. Links are clear and make it obvious where they connect to, which is aligned with best practices for using links. All in all, the text is very accessible in Trello’s emails.
There is one image in the email but no alt text. Without alt text, someone using assistive technology like screen readers wouldn’t know what the image was, making the email very inaccessible. Using alt text helps a website – and its emails – be WCAG compliant. Trello’s emails could use some work to be fully accessible.
Conclusion
Trello, a project-management service, is a minimally accessible website and mobile app. Their emails are mostly accessible, but they need to work more to ensure they are fully accessible and WCAG-compliant. Fixing these issues will help prevent further issues in the long run.
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