Creating Accessible Surveys in WSC

Learn about creating accessible surveys using simple question types.
Reference Guide
While we can't claim certification or total WCAG compliance, some basic question types should support screen readers.

We have constructed the platforms HTML markup for simple question types with ARIA (Accessibility Rich Internet Application) tags - the tags can help with screen readers such as JAWS (Job Access With Speech) and many people with low vision use them.

The key question types that are not supported are those that support elements such as dragging or “gamification” style, for example “drag and flag” or “choice clouds”, etc. Essentially many of the Advanced question types.

Other components of the site such as the survey designer, portal or other no-survey parts are also not WCAG compliant.
We recommend the following basic question types for accessibility that will generally be supported through ARIA tags:
  • 1. Text (Single Line Text; Multiple Line Text)
  • 2. Choice (Radios, Checkboxes; Dropdown; Hierarchical)
  • 3. Matrix (Single, Radios; Single, Checkboxes; Multiple, Radios; Multiple, Checkboxes; Comparison; Best/Worst)
  • 4. Number (Numeric; Numeric Grid)
  • 5. Date using simple formatting
  • 6. Ranking (Ranking; Ranking with Not Answered)
  • 7. Demographic
It is also important to note that most static content would be able to be used as stimulus, but of course that may not be accessible due to its visual nature.