Responses and insight into the WebAIM screen reader user surveys. Feedback from the surveys provides great insight into accessible web design and development.
Presented by Jared Smith of WebAIM (webaim.org) at Accessing Higher Ground Conference, 2009
5. Disclaimers
• The sample was not controlled
• Respondents are likely to be more technical
• Safe to consider the sample representative
of connected, tech-savvy screen reader
users?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
6. Survey #1
January 2009
1121 Respondents
Survey #2
October 2009
665 Respondents
Thursday, November 12, 2009
7. There is NO typical screen reader user
Thursday, November 12, 2009
10. Those with disabilities
were 6X more likely to
report themselves as
“Advanced” screen
reader users
Thursday, November 12, 2009
11. Internet Proficiency
Beginner
1.5%
Intermediate
33.6%
Advanced
64.9%
Thursday, November 12, 2009
12. Primary Screen Reader
75%
50%
25% 66.4%
0%
10.4% 8.9% 4.9% 2.9% 2.6%
JAWS Window Eyes VoiceOver SA or SAToGo NVDA Zoomtext
Thursday, November 12, 2009
13. Screen Readers
Commonly Used
75%
50%
75.2%
25%
23.5% 22.3% 25.6%
0% 14.6%
7.5%
JAWS Window Eyes VoiceOver SA or SAToGo NVDA Zoomtext
Thursday, November 12, 2009
14. Screen Readers
Commonly Used
75%
January 2009
October 2009
50%
74% 75%
25%
23% 24% 26%
0% 15%
6% 8%
JAWS Window Eyes VoiceOver NVDA
Thursday, November 12, 2009
15. Screen Reader Updated in
the Previous Year?
No
16.4%
Yes
83.6%
Thursday, November 12, 2009
16. Screen Reader Updates
• Increased from 75% to 84% in 10
months
• 6% using a screen reader > 3
years old
Thursday, November 12, 2009
17. How did you learn to use
your primary screen reader?
100%
75%
50%
25% 72.9%
0% 32.9% 24.2%
10.5%
Self-Taught Informally Training Other
Thursday, November 12, 2009
19. Mobile screen reader usage
50%
40%
30%
20% 50%
10%
0% 12%
January 2009 October 2009
Up over 400% in 10 months!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
20. Do you see free or low-cost screen
readers (such as NVDA or VoiceOver)
as currently being viable alternatives to
commercial screen readers?
I Don’t Know
32%
Yes
47.8%
No
19.7%
Thursday, November 12, 2009
21. Javascript Disabled?
I Don’t Know
15%
No Yes
74.9% 10.4%
Thursday, November 12, 2009
22. Problematic Items
1.CAPTCHA
2.Inaccessible Flash content
3.Links or buttons that do not make sense
4.Images with missing or improper alt text
5.Complex or difficult forms
6.Lack of keyboard accessibility
7.Unexpected content changes
8.Missing or improper headings
9.Too many links or navigation items
10.Complex data tables
Thursday, November 12, 2009
23. Progress over the previous year
Less Accessible No Change
33.3% 20%
More Accessible
46.3%
Thursday, November 12, 2009
24. Which of the following do you
think has a bigger impact on
improvements to web accessibility?
Better assistive technology
31.4%
Better (more accessible) web sites
68.6%
Thursday, November 12, 2009
25. Use of ARIA Landmarks
Sometimes use landmarks
32%
Use landmarks when present Not supported
20.5% 5%
Unaware of landmarks
42.1%
Thursday, November 12, 2009
26. Social Media Usage
50%
40%
30%
20% 47.7% 51.3%
42% 38.2%
10%
0% 13.4%
9%
Blogs Facebook LinkedIn MySpace Twitter YouTube
Thursday, November 12, 2009
27. Social Media Accessibility
Accessible
Inaccessible
Blogs Facebook LinkedIn MySpace Twitter YouTube
Thursday, November 12, 2009
28. General Social Media
Accessibility
Somewhat Inaccessible
Somewhat Accessible Very Inaccessible
I Don’t Know
Very Accessible
Thursday, November 12, 2009
29. Likelihood of Flash
Accessibility
Somewhat Likely
Somewhat Unlikely
Very Likely
I Don’t Know
Very Unlikely
Thursday, November 12, 2009
30. Headings
76% always or often navigate by headings
50.8% use headings as the primary method of
finding information in a page
Thursday, November 12, 2009
31. Other Notables
• Text-only versions are not commonly
accessed. Screen reader-only content is
accessed only slightly more often.
• Majority have difficulty with pop-up windows.
• Prefer “Skip to main content” or “Skip to
content” over “Skip navigation”.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
32. What suggestions do you have
for developers/manufacturers
of screen readers?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
33. “Focus on web standards
(e.g., ARIA)”
Thursday, November 12, 2009
34. “Be more open. Listen to
your customers.”
Thursday, November 12, 2009
35. “Lower your prices or I’ll
switch to Screen Reader X
(as soon as it’s fully useful).”
Thursday, November 12, 2009
36. “Spend more time fixing bugs
than implementing new
features I’ll never/rarely use.”
Thursday, November 12, 2009
38. “Remove JAWS demo
mode restrictions on
evaluation and testing.”
Thursday, November 12, 2009
39. “Keep up the good work.
I can’t imagine life without
these wonderful
technologies!”
Thursday, November 12, 2009
40. There is NO typical screen reader user
... but we can learn much about typical behavior
Thursday, November 12, 2009
41. The survey results pages have
much, MUCH more
http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey
and
http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey2
Thursday, November 12, 2009
42. Thank You!
Jared Smith
http://webaim.org
twitter: @jared_w_smith
AHG hashtag is #ahg09
Thursday, November 12, 2009