There are over 7 million apps available across the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, and new ones are added every day. People spend 88% of their time on their phone using apps. More and more businesses are creating mobile apps, and an important thing to consider when doing so is accessibility for people who are D/deaf or hard of hearing.
There are several ways to ensure accessibility for those with hearing loss. Though implementing all of them may seem ideal, some may not be relevant to your business and needs.
Make a list of all the essential functions of your app. Is it an e-commerce app? Is a portion of your app dedicated to customer service? Focusing on the use cases can help determine what accessibility features will work best for you and your customers.
Once you have narrowed your scope, research the best way to implement accessibility into your app. Look for guides to get direction on where to start.
There is also a lot of value in learning from the lived experiences of people who are D/deaf or hard of hearing. Learning from their experiences can help identify what functionality your app needs and how to achieve that.
Research depends heavily on the type of app you are building, but that doesn’t mean you can’t explore how other companies have developed their apps to be accessible. Noting the techniques and options others have utilized can help you refine your approach and perfect what you can offer.
There are several aspects to app testing, and they don't just apply to the initial development process. They reoccur throughout the lifetime of your app. And each type of testing provides different but critical feedback for your app's overall function and accessibility.
Though the accessibility features you decide on will be specific to your industry and the purpose of your app, there are some standard features you can start with to make the development easier. These are baseline, industry-standard requirements for digital accessibility.
Apps are wildly popular. And as your user base grows, so does the likelihood that people who are D/deaf or hard of hearing will be among your users. Researching, planning, and integrating accessible features to make your app user-friendly for users with hearing disabilities is critical. Following these steps will facilitate a smoother development process and continued accessibility to all your customers.