Discover the importance of mobile app accessibility and learn essential steps to create inclusive and user-friendly mobile applications. Optimize your app for all users, including those with disabilities, with our comprehensive guide.

Our current reality is mobile. More and more people use mobile devices for communication and business over laptops and desktop computers.

The popularity of mobile apps has grown in recent years. As of 2023, the worldwide app market has earned $543.50 billion.

Despite the many advantages mobile devices bring to everyday activities, people with disabilities frequently meet usability and accessibility issues while using mobile apps.

These problems arise when mobile apps do not include important accessibility features to improve the user experience.

What is Mobile App Accessibility?

Mobile app accessibility refers to developing mobile applications that are accessible and provide equal experience opportunities to everyone regardless of their disabilities.

Often mobile accessibility is confused with mobile friendliness. However, they are not synonyms. Mobile friendliness is how an app is designed to load on mobile devices. At the same time, a mobile-friendly app may not be mobile-accessible.

Ideally, a well-designed mobile app should aim to be both user-friendly and accessible on mobile devices and provide a smooth and inclusive experience for all users.

Why Mobile App Accessibility Matters?

The importance of mobile app accessibility is on the rise. By the end of 2023, nearly 70 percent of the global population was using smartphones.

Smartphones are important to provide reliable and affordable support for people with disabilities. Worldwide stats show that 91% of the disabled population uses tablets or smartphones. Apps and smartphone accessibility features greatly help them with daily tasks and allow them to benefit from technological advancements like everyone else.

 

Steps to Provide Mobile App Accessibility

An essential part of modern app development is to ensure that everyone, including those with disabilities, can access mobile apps. 

By following a set of steps and procedures, you can design apps that are accessible to everyone. An important element of this process is conducting mobile app accessibility testing, which helps detect and resolve any issues beforehand. 

Below are key steps you can take to provide your users with high-level mobile app accessibility.

1. Design for Different Screen Sizes

You should consider that smartphones and tablets come in different screen sizes.

Small screens and unique aspect ratios are important features of mobile devices that developers and designers need to think about when designing apps.

These smaller screens restrict the amount of information visible, especially for users who need larger content because of vision impairment.

To make the most of small screen space:

•  Limit Information: Reduce the amount of information displayed on each screen, which benefits both apps and websites with responsive design or mobile versions.
•  Use Default Sizes: Make sure content and touch controls are large enough to minimize the need for zooming.
•  Adjust Link Text: Customize link text lengths to fit the width of the viewport.
   

2. Make Layouts Consistent

Mobile app accessibility requires consistent layouts. This means your company logo, search bar, titles, navigation menu, and other design elements should be in the same place every time. Even in the case of a tiny screen, the navigation menu and all its items should still stay in the same order.

To make your app layouts consistent:

• Opt for consistent colors and fonts.
• Make sure that all icons and images have consistent style and size.
• Craft reusable UI elements and templates.
• Keep the interaction patterns (tap action, swipe action) the same throughout the app. 

3. Avoid Content Cramming

Nobody likes pages with crammed content. Users often feel overwhelmed by an excess of information and prefer scrolling and tapping instead of diving into a large amount of content.

To avoid content cramming:

• Concentrate on the key information.
• Not to overwhelm the users, reveal the content gradually.
• Keep the app design minimalistic.

4. Provide Color Contrast

Color contrast is one of the key parameters for accessibility. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2) clearly define the contrast ratios that are considered accessible. 

To meet the compliance requirements, your mobile app text should have a minimum color contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text, with larger text requiring at least 3:1. 

You should be especially careful with the mobile app color contrast as people use these devices mostly outdoors, and sunlight glare can affect screen visibility. Poor contrast can worsen the difficulties people with reduced vision face when accessing content on mobile devices.

5. Provide the Ability to Zoom

The zoom feature allows users to magnify text, images, and other components and makes content more visible and user-friendly. Make sure that your app provides zoom functionality, to improve the overall user experience for those with limited vision, as well as for users facing difficult viewing environments like bright sunlight.

6. Use Plain Language

Plain language helps the users understand your mobile app content, easily follow the instructions, and get to the pages they need. If you want to minimize the misunderstandings and errors on your mobile app, then you need to use merely plain language.

To keep the language plain:

• Use common words and phrases.
• Avoid jargon and technical terms.
• Don’t exceed 15-20 words per sentence.

7. Provide Accessibility for Audio and Video Content

You need to provide audio-visual content optimized for multiple forms of perception. This becomes more important with the growing use of voice commands in mobile marketing.

Make sure to add captions to all videos and provide transcripts for audio. This way you will ensure accessibility for people with disabilities who might otherwise be unable to interact with certain formats
.

8. Keep Gestures Simple

Modern mobile apps work on touch devices that include clicking, tapping, swiping, and other gestures. Keep in mind that they should be made as simple as possible.

To keep your mobile app gestures simple:

• Apply icons, buttons and other indicators to show where and how to apply the gesture.
• Visually distinguish interactive elements from non-interactive ones.
• Offer alternative methods for applying gestures for people who might have difficulties with certain gestures.

9. Adjust Tap Target Sizes

Tap targets are interactive elements like buttons, links, and icons that users can touch to carry out actions. Well-sized tap targets improve usability for everyone, especially individuals with motor impairments, larger fingers, or limited dexterity.

To adjust tap target sizes for accessibility:

• Keep tap targets larger to make them accessible for people with motor and visual impairments.
• Keep the average finger size in mind while crafting tap targets. The ideal size is 44 pixels or 10mm.
• Add accurate spacing between tap targets.
• Adjust tap targets for one-handed use. 

10. Make Data Entry Easy

Each day more and more consumers rely on their mobile devices for different needs. However many mobile apps still overlook the needs of people with disabilities in their forms and other data input methods.

To make your mobile app data entry easy:

• Develop web forms with simple design solutions. Ideally, keep 3-4 input fields.
• Add the autofill option for your app forms.
• Label the form text fields.