We are continously improving the accessibility of our survey codebase so that more questions types become accessible.
Our accessible questions are at least 90% WCAG compliant and work with a range of screen readers.
Question Types
Accessible Question Types
- Single text box
- Comment / essay box
- Multiple textboxes
- Radio buttons (Horizontal or vertical)
- Checkboxes (Horizontal or vertical)
- Other option for radio buttons or checkboxes
- Dropdown multiple choice (only one answer)
- Matrix of choices (avoid using checkboxes - multiple answers per row)
- Customer effort score
- Customer satisfaction score
- Likert
- Net promoter score (NPS)
Partially Accessible Question Types
- Date (Note the calendar widget is not accessible but users can add a date manually)
- Time
- Date and time
Partially-Accessible Functionality
- Save and continue
- File upload
- Adding images of YouTube videos
Inaccessible question types to avoid
Do not use:
- Matrix of choices with Checkboxes
- Ranking
- Continuous sum
- Slider
- Semantic Differential.
Drafting accessible questions
Follow these suggestions to make your survey as accessible as possible.
Enable question numbers
Keep question numbers on to enable respondents to keep track of questions.
Keep label text short
When appropriate, make the first word or words meaningful to the user.
Providing short labels should be balanced with tone of voice.
| Do |
Don't |
| First Name |
Your First Name |
| Last Name |
Your Last Name |
| Email |
Your Email |
| Phone Number |
Your Phone Number |
Figure 1: User details
Avoid “Enable editor”
The “Enable Editor” function allows additional HTML to be added into the question tag (Heading). We recommend avoiding this option.
However, if additional content is added to the question heading tag this should be done carefully and tested for accessibility.
Predefined options
Where possible use multiple choice to reduce amount of text entry needed.
Use plain language
- Use plain language.
- Explain any specialist terms.
Abbreviations
N/A is often used as an option. Not everyone knows what N/A stands for. For maximum accessibility, use the full word instead of the acronym or provide an explanation at the beginning of the survey.
Not applicable or No answer?
You may have to change the wording depending on the question.
Reduce data entry
Use single or multiple choice questions. Text boxes and dropdown menus require more effort from the user so avoid these.
Multiple choice (Only one answer and multiple answers)
Use a vertical layout where appropriate.
Vertical layouts are easy to scan read especially for screen magnifier users.
Figure 2: Arrow indicates the "F pattern" used when a sighted user scans content.
Accessible likert scales
Don't hide instructions or key explanations in blocks of text. Chunk text and use bullet lists for easier scanning.
Example:
Do:
Select how much you agree with the following statements using this scale:
1 = do not agree at all
10 = completely agree.
Don’t:
Your feedback is important to us and will be used to improve our service to you and all our customers. On a scale of 1 to 10 (where 1 is do not agree and 10 is completely agree) how much do you agree with the following statements?
Matrix of Choices
Where possible, we recommend using single multiple choice questions instead of the matrix of choices.
This question format is partially accessible but there are issues for screen reader users who use NVDA screen reader with Chrome browser.
Avoid using matrixes of checkboxes as these are not available for NVDA screen reader users who use Chrome browser.
If using this question type, chunk statements into sections so users aren't overwhelmed. For example, use no more than 4 statements per matrix.