The Best UI/UX Design Accessibility Practices

What pops into your mind when hearing about accessibility in design? Many immediately think of people with disabilities but the truth is that accessibility is about making your product available for as many users as possible.

And it doesn’t only mean people who have some disabilities. Designers have to take into account all kinds of situations, both permanent and temporary. For example, being on the bus or holding a baby means that person can scroll a website with one hand only.

So what are some of the best accessible design practices? Let’s review four of those.

Don’t use color as the only way to convey information

We briefly mentioned this one in our UX/UI design terminology blog post. But, to be fair, it deserves an honorable mention in any list of accessibility practices.

So why using color only to reflect some information is not such a good idea?

First of all, quite obviously it doesn’t allow users with colorblindness or other similar visual impairments to use the website.

Secondly, think about the users who rely on the audio convention of the information. For example, if the only indication of the incorrect data in the filled-in form is the red color, users who are listening to the audio version of the page text or view it in monochrome won’t understand what do they need to change.

Organize your content and use headings

Have you ever felt overwhelmed when opening an app or a website? You are not alone. Too many buttons, a lot of text, redundant elements — all of this makes us confused and leads to limited accessibility.

People with certain mental health conditions or simply those looking at the page on the go won’t find a complicated structure a benefit.

That’s why it’s paramount to separate your content by categories and use descriptive headings to create a hierarchy.

Don’t rely on devices too much

It is best to avoid giving your users instructions that exclusively rely on device interactions. For example, rotating, shaking, or gesturing are actions that not all users can perform.

Such actions can be limiting for two main reasons:

1. Some users physically can’t, for example, rotate their screens, be it because of motor disabilities or circumstances. Let's be honest, it is not convenient to move your phone around in many cases.

2. Not all devices allow such actions to be easily performed. For instance, sometimes a user has to go to the settings to allow rotating the content. Again, this is not bringing ease to using an app or a web page.

These kinds of interactions can be a fun addition to give users some alternative ways to experience the product but not the only option.

Think about touch targets

As we are a mobile development company, designing for a touchscreen is something our team always keeps in mind. So how to make an app which can be tapped through by any user, including those having mobility impairments or simply bigger fingers?

The most important aspect of creating touchpoints is making them big enough. The general rule is that any touch target should be no less than 9 mm in width and 9 mm in height no matter the screen size.

One more practice to remember is leaving enough space between the icons or buttons, so not only do they have no chance of overlapping but users can’t accidentally press the wrong one.

Creating universal design

These were four examples of design accessibility principles that we use in Perpetio. Surely, there are more than four practices to follow but it all really depends on the type of content, a device you are designing for, and so forth.

Remember that accessibility is not about making your product available for a particular group of people but rather making it universal and open for as many people as possible.

Wondering about what some other UI/UX design terms mean? Check out our new glossary to learn some more!