Chances are you are very familiar with looking at your web browser on a screen and controlling it with a mouse. When you think about designing web pages, you can picture this user experience as it's one you have personal experience with. However, not all users consume information and control their compter in the same fashion. In order to create experiences for all users you should have an understanding of the different tools people may use when navigating the web.
One of the best-known accessibility tools are screen readers. Screen readers are commonly used clients for those with vision impairments. As we spend time ensuring a browser properly conveys the information we wish to share, we must also ensure a screen reader does the same.
At its most basic, a screen reader will read a page from top to bottom audibly. If your page is all text, the reader will convey the information in a similar fashion to a browser. Of course, web pages are rarely purely text; they will contain links, graphics, color, and other visual components. Care must be taken to ensure that this information is read correctly by a screen reader.
As highlighted earlier, you should become familiar with the different tools and clients people use, especially screen readers. Fortunately, screen readers are built into most operating systems.
Some browsers also have built-in tools and extensions that can read text aloud or even provide some basic navigational features, such as these accessibility-focused Edge browser tools. These are also important accessibility tools, but function very differently from screen readers and they should not be mistaken for screen reader testing tools.
[NOTE]: Try a screen reader and browser text reader. On Windows Narrator is included by default, while JAWS and NVDA can also be installed. On macOS and iOS, VoiceOver is installed by default.
Another tool commonly used by people with vision impairments is zooming. The most basic type of zooming is static zoom, controlled through Control + plus sign (+) or by decreasing screen resolution. This type of zoom causes the entire page to resize. Using responsive design, where items shift based on the viewport is important to provide a good user experience at increased zoom levels.
Your OS itself likely has built-in zoom capabilities, which allow you to magnify parts of the screen, much like using a real magnifying glass. Magnifier is built into Windows, with ZoomText being available as a more fully-featured and popular third-party add-on. Both macOS and iOS have a built-in magnification tool called Zoom.
Sometimes people with vision-related disabilities will use increased contrast or dark mode to make text and UI stand out more. Windows provides a High Contrast Mode that replaces all UI colors with user-selected colors. macOS and iOS provide various color manipulation options including increased contrast, inverted colors, and color filters.
There are other reasons someone might alter their display colors aside from vision impairments. For example, someone with a traumatic brain injury or chronic migraines could use an extreme red-shift filter in order to comfortably use a screen, with the side effect that blues appear indistinguishable from blacks.
There are numerous ways for a user to interact with a web page beyond the keyboard and mouse. Users with mobility issues may use solely their keyboard, a touch screen, or an external device called a switch. It's also important to remember those who use a screen reader may not be relying solely on a keyboard, but could be using a keyboard and mouse.
Although many people associate voice control with voice assistants, like Siri and Alexa, voice control as an assistive technology has a much longer history. People can use the technology to control and interact with a computer and web browser, with Dragon Naturally Speaking being one of the most popular tools on the market.