Influence of Accessibility on App Development

Mobile app development is not an easy task. It encompasses a lot many challenges, which mainly include knowing the current trend in the market, understanding the demands from the users, finding suitable to technicalities and many more. Any app developer will design an app keeping in view of all these points. Now, let’s look into one of those things which has a great influence, i.e., its accessibility.

Meaning of the word, ‘Accessibility’

Accessibility refers to the design of the product for the use of people with special challenges. With respect to the mobile apps, the various disabilities can be physical, visual, hearing or any mobile related challenges. Including the accessibility into the particular app depends on what kind of app is it and also what kind of accessibility needs to be included.

Importance of Accessibility for mobile apps

An app will be created keeping in view of the users, including the people with special challenges. As per statistics, about 25% of the users need some or the other kind of accessibility. For instance, color blindness is seen in 0.5% women and 8% men. So, when developing an app, the app developer needs to check with the various possibilities to includes as many accessibilities as possible. This will help in making the particular app reachable to more number of users.

Not only about color blindness, but there may also be other special challenges too. So, the app so developed need to satisfy all the needs of the various users, thereby accounting for the success of the app. The various mobile platforms like android, iOS, windows support the possibility of including these various accessibilities in the app, keeping in view of the user’s experience with the app. There is a markable raise in the number of accessibility being included in the various operating systems.

There are so many ways, by which this accessibility will show its effect on the business of these apps. To the point of fact, any app developer will develop an app, hoping for the success of the app. Any app can succeed only when it is deeply penetrated into more number of users.

For this to happen, one of the most important things is that the app should and must possess all the features with the help of which more number of users are satisfied. Among those important features, accessibilities are one. The more the number of accessibilities for the user, the higher the number of people using the app.

Having more number of users to a particular app not only helps in making the app more and more popular. Thus, all these parameters account for the complete success of the app.

Also, the various operating systems also, have raised the number of possibilities of including the accessibilities. Of course, this inclusion of the accessibilities into a particular app is not that easy, it is not lesser than a challenge for the app developer, but at the same time, it is not impossible.

Interestingly, there is no minimum or maximum limitation for the number of accessibility for a particular app, it depends on the app developer designing the app. Also, the mobile app development industry is also under progress. Lot many new technologies are resulting in the emergence of new apps with various features. Let us hope that this progress continues and the possibility of including more and more accessibilities increases.

Approaches for creating accessible apps

• Text – The display of the text on mobile devices is important, especially for users with special challenges. Raising the zoom percentage will enhance the viewing of the text over the device.
• Contrast – display of text is not sufficient, but also, the display of the picture also matters a lot. Setting up an appropriate contrast means setting up an appropriate ratio between the text and image. This ratio depends mainly on the type of the text on the device. The user can also avail of the facility to check whether the contrast ratio set by them is appropriate or not by using any of the various online tools.
• Color selection for display – a selection of the particular color for the display is very important. This selection should be done, keeping in view of the user with color blindness.
• Test the app appropriately – After the development of the app, one of the most important things, any app developer is interested in is testing the performance of the app. Of course, it is good to have the check, but what matters the most is testing the app with the appropriate target. The app is aimed at various users of a wide range. So, while the app has to be tested for its performance, it needs to be tested with the users, but not with the experts. Because the perspective of the experts will be different and the perspective of the user using the app may be different.
• Testing the app on a broad spectrum – After the development of the app, it is very much important to test the performance of the app. This should be done on a broad spectrum of users for getting true feedback. Do not hesitate to check the performance of the app on a narrow segment of the user. This is obviously a potential barrier to development.
• Exclude the unnecessary to avoid biases – An app developer needs to know to maintain the balance between the things which need to be included in the app and the things which need to be excluded from the app. The information which is necessary for the operation of the app needs to be included whereas the other information can be excluded in order to avoid the lengthiness.
• Provide appropriate environment – Designing the app with appropriate architecture will no doubt help the user in taking the user into the app comfortably as the user feels comfortable with the architecture of the app.
• Do not forget to be simple – the text which is easy to read is perceived as true than the things which are more complicated. So, while developing the app, do not forget about making the text easy to read and other options easy to do.