Web accessibility experts often say something like, “Screen reader users prefer…” followed by some accessibility recommendation. However, many of these recommendations are based on personal preference or conjecture – often from sighted users who only test with screen readers. The fact is that there is little data about screen reader usage to back up these recommendations.
In an attempt to address this problem, WebAIM is conducting a survey for screen reader users. If you are a full-time, part-time, or even occasional screen reader user, please take a few minutes to complete the survey and provide us with a few details on your screen reader usage and preferences. Your feedback will help influence the accessibility techniques that web developers implement.
We will be comparing results between those that rely on screen readers and those that primarily use them for evaluation and testing, so all screen reader users are invited to respond.
The results of the survey will be made public in a few months. We believe the results will be very useful to those who are developing accessible web content.
We are relying on all of you to help us spread the word. Please post to lists, blogs, etc. where screen reader users might participate. The survey is will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.
Access the survey at http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey/
Hello!
I took your survey earlier today! I forgot to mention the difficulty of accessing sites which use captias, that is, they say to type what is seen in a box before the site can be accessed! Audio is often difficult to hear since the numbers or letters to be heard are garbled with other voices or unnecessary sounds. The best audio captia I have ever heard is from Sirius Satellite Radio. I would like to see where a question could be answered or something more simple if these captias must be used. There is a program with firefox which is quite useable but I haven’t tried this yet! Otherwise these type what you see in the box are impossible with IE7. Adobe anything is somewhat difficult! I use it but don’t consider adobe flash or adobe reader a pleasure to use. I’ve been trying to find a way to make some money on the internet and many of these sites are impossible to use! If I ever get a chance to recommend a direction where some of these people can bone up on accessibility, I’ll recommend webaim.org
Thanks for reading!
Some very pertinent questions with a useful range of multiple-choice answers.
Perhaps it’s worth asking a question about whether a short dropdown list is easier to use than an expanded list (using the
sizeattribute) or a set of radio buttons?The option of simply “Home” or “Homepage” is missing from this question.
Perhaps options like “Don’t know” and “No opinion” should be the default choices? If a user skips a question like the one above, they may unintentionally be setting “Acme Corporation” as their choice.
Hey Jon,
just the thing I was looking for. A short while ago I wrote my own article on how poor our resources for use of screen readers and the like are.
http://www.onderhond.com/blog/work/pretending-to-be-the-blind-guy
Very good to see surveys like this pop up, it can only help us to get a better grip on how to please a wider audience. Thanks a billion!
hi
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good luck
Interesting survey! It’s amazing how technology can help people. Although I do not use a screen reader, I congratulate your company for doing so.
It would be useful to have a summary of these findings with regards to “How people can improve websites to help people with disabilities navigate their sites better.” For example, no flash sites, more audio, etc.