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Related: 5 Myths About Screen Readers That Can Hurt Accessibility Screen readers can expose serious accessibility issuesįortunately, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provides a framework for designing content that works with screen readers - along with other assistive technologies and browsing behaviors.īy accessing content with a screen reader, experienced testers can find WCAG conformance issues including: In other words, if your content isn’t accessible with a screen reader, you’ve got a problem. In recent years, screen reader usage has expanded outside the disabilities community: Products like Apple’s VoiceOver can be useful when accessing mobile devices in certain settings (for instance, when operating a vehicle). However, some screen reader users have neurocognitive conditions or other disabilities that affect their browsing behavior - and about 12.4% of respondents said that they use screen readers, but not because of any specific disability.

In a 2019 survey, WebAIM found that 76% of screen reader users with disabilities were blind, while about 18.5% had low vision or other visual impairments. Assistive technologies improve access for people with disabilities, and it’s true that most screen reader users have some type of vision-related condition. These applications have different features and capabilities, but they’re intentionally designed as assistive technologies. The most popular screen readers include Apple VoiceOver, JAWS, and NVDA, but dozens of other options exist. Why Screen Readers Are Important for Accessibilityįirst, let’s dispel a common myth: Not all screen readers work the same way, and not all screen reader users have significant vision disabilities.

In this article, we’ll discuss why these applications are effective tools for finding accessibility barriers on websites and mobile content.

Screen reader support is essential for digital accessibility, and screen readers play an important role in accessibility testing. Is your website accessible for screen reader users?Ī screen reader is a software application that converts text to audio or braille.

Eclipse accessibility screen reader