As 2021 came to a close this month, Diamond released their 3rd annual State of Accessibility Report. For this annual report, the firm tests the accessibility of websites to analyze each site’s usability for people with disabilities. This year, they also conducted testing on mobile apps.
The Diamond team conducted testing on the registration and login/logout processes of the Alexa Top 100 websites using Voiceover, NVDA, and JAWS. The team also tested criteria from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
The importance of digital accessibility
Websites and mobile apps provide digital access to a wide array of goods and services. They’re also an important part of how we communicate with one another socially and professionally. When websites and apps are not accessible, people with disabilities can face barriers in performing daily activities like making purchases, connecting with friends, or searching for employment. This is even more important now, as the pandemic forced much of business and personal interactions to go fully digital.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other disability rights laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability. If people with disabilities are unable to use an app fully and independently due to accessibility barriers, that can constitute discrimination and be unlawful. Companies should work towards eliminating any accessibility barriers by having their websites and apps tested for accessibility and making the necessary updates to allow everyone to enjoy their apps and websites.
Companies have made great strides in website accessibility over the past two years
The State of Accessibility Report found that website accessibility among the top 100 websites had improved:
- 62% were accessible
- 9% were accessible with difficulty
- 29% were inaccessible
While it’s concerning that 29% of the websites tested were not accessible, there was a notable improvement from the 2019 number in which:
- Only 29% were accessible
- 28% were accessible with difficulty
- 41% were inaccessible
While there is still clearly work to do, this is cause for celebration overall as we are seeing a positive trend towards greater digital accessibility.
Mobile accessibility
Diamond tested the top 20 free apps on the Android and iOS App stores. They also tested the top 20 paid apps from each app store. Since this was Diamond’s first year testing mobile apps, we do not have data to compare to from prior years. However, one thing that did become clear was there is some room for improvement in the mobile app market.
When testing screen reader accessibility:
- 80% of free iOS apps were accessible
- 65% of free Android apps were accessible
- 10% of paid iOS apps were accessible
- 40% of paid Android apps were accessible
In order to pass the accessibility test, a tester had to be able to perform the main feature of the app using a screen-reader without difficulty. It is disappointing to see that developers of paid apps do not appear to be investing time or resources into making their apps accessible, particularly on the iOS store.
Diamond conducted manual testing of mobile apps to check for features such as text resizing, alt text, ability to change orientation when turning your phone, and heading structure. The results were as follows:
- 10% of free iOS apps were accessible
- 5% of free Android apps were accessible
- 35% of paid iOS apps were accessible
- 29% of paid Android apps were accessible
Text resizing was the biggest shortcoming across the board. This feature is important for those with low vision. Ideally, the text in a mobile app should be resized to fit the user’s chosen preferences from their mobile device settings.
Improvements we hope to see in 2022
As we look towards the start of a new year, it's a good idea to consider what can be improved going forward.
While optimizing websites and mobile applications to make them accessible can require a bit of time, companies have a legal obligation to make their sites accessible. Having an accessible website or mobile app also allows companies to reach a wider audience, as people with disabilities make up about 26% of the population.
Some major areas of improvement that companies should work on going into the new year include:
- Making registration and login screens accessible with screen readers
- Improving the heading structure of apps, particularly Android apps as they scored extremely low on this test
- Improving the accessibility of paid apps to allow users to complete the primary functions of the app with a screen reader, particularly for paid iOS apps that had a shockingly low pass rate of 10%
- Text resizing in mobile apps
- Sufficient color contrast on websites
Accessibility should not be an afterthought when building websites or apps. Paid apps in particular should be providing users with a premium experience, yet they appear to be behind in accessibility. We hope to see this improve in 2022.
Comments