Accessibility in UX Writing

Accessibility refers to the possibility for everyone, including and especially people with disabilities, to interact with and successfully use the product.

Accessible UX writing ensures our products are usable by everyone, including people with disabilities.

Here are key reasons why accessibility is important in UX writing:

• Legal Requirements: Many countries have legal requirements for accessibility (for example, ADA in the U.S., WCAG guidelines, European Accessibility Act).
• Expanding User Base: Accessible UX writing opens the door to a larger audience, including individuals with disabilities, older adults, and people with temporary impairments.
• Better User Experience: Accessible features often improve the user experience for all, making interfaces easier to navigate and reducing cognitive overload.
• Social Responsibility: Inclusivity and accessibility are ethical imperatives, ensuring digital products are available to everyone, regardless of their abilities.

Visible vs. Hidden Text

For UX writers, writing accessible text means thinking about text on two levels.

• First, the quality of visible UI text — labels, button copy, error messages, instructions — directly affects the experience of users working with assistive technologies.
  
  Visible UI text refers to on-screen text read aloud by screen readers if no extra accessibility label is defined. Sometimes an on-screen label may be overridden with an accessibility label to provide more information to users of assistive technologies.
• Second, much of what screen reader users hear is text that is never visible on screen: for example, accessible names for icon buttons, descriptions attached to form fields, or live announcements of status changes.

Example: Hidden and visible label for an icon button

Accessibility Labels and ARIA Text

Designers add accessibility annotations to design files. These are nonvisible labels or descriptions associated with an element to provide users of assistive technologies with a label for the element. Your role is to write the text that becomes the ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) attribute in the code: writing an annotation means writing the text that will become an ARIA label.

Examples:

• Trash can icon button: Annotation "Delete Selected Items"
• Pencil icon button: Annotation "Edit Selected Items"

In most circumstances, visible UI text is preferred as an accessible name, as it simplifies maintenance and reduces language translation requirements. But if a UI element has no visible text or not enough context in the text to guide users of assistive technologies, UA developers need to name the element with a string that is not visually rendered to ensure that screen readers describe the element as accurately and helpfully as possible.

What is ARIA?

An ARIA label is an HTML attribute used to provide an invisible, descriptive text label for interactive elements (like buttons, links, or landmarks) that lack readable text, such as icon-only buttons. It is a short, standalone accessible name announced by the screen reader in place of any visible text labels and conveys the purpose of the element by the screen reader. It ensures screen readers can announce a meaningful name, improving accessibility for users with disabilities.

Which elements need labels?

• Interactive icons or buttons with no visible text or insufficient context (for example, an edit button with a pencil icon)
• Interactive images
• Visual cues (including progress bars and error handling)
• Icons, such as status icons
• Meaningful images, for example, diagrams, substantive photos and illustrations
• Meaningful images (diagrams, photos, illustrations)

How Users Work with Assistive Technologies

Screen readers don't simply read words on screen — they announce a comprehensive description including the element's label, role, and current state. For example, a button announces as “Submit, button” while a checkbox might announce as “Remember me, checkbox, not checked.”

Key user patterns

• Navigation: Users navigate by headings, landmarks, and tab order rather than visual layout.
• Interaction: Users rely on keyboard shortcuts and specific key combinations (Tab, arrow keys, Enter, Space).
• Exploration: Users often scan pages using heading structures and skip links to find relevant sections quickly.
• Context: Users depend heavily on clear, descriptive text, since they can't see visual cues.

Tool dependencies

Different screen readers and assistive technologies may interpret content slightly differently, so consistent, semantic markup and clear language are crucial for reliable experiences across tools.

For more information on accessibility tools, see Check Tools and Simulation Tools.

Key Guidelines and Best Practices

This section outlines the essential standards for creating accessible user interface text. The following guidelines and best practices are based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

These guidelines focus specifically on the textual elements of a digital interface, ensuring that content is perceivable, operable, and understandable for all users, including those using assistive technologies.

By following these standards, you ensure that screen readers can effectively convey the interface's purpose and that all users can interact with the system without confusion.

Navigation

Meaningful link text

Link text must clearly state the destination. Don't make people guess.

Unique page titles

Every web page must have titles that describe the topic or purpose. This is the first thing a screen reader says when the page opens.

Descriptive and clear section headers

Headers describe the content that follows. They act like a map for people scanning the page.

Forms

Every input box needs a permanent, visible label. Don't use the text inside the box (placeholder) to replace a real label.

Button labels

Button text should tell the user exactly what will happen next.

Instructions

Avoid directional terms

Avoid instructions that rely on color, shape, or where something is on the screen.

Mark links that open in new tabs

Always tell the user if a link is going to open in a new tab or window.

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