Assistive Technologies Guide

The internet should be for everyone. Yet for millions of people worldwide, accessing a website requires specialised hardware or software. This guide explains the most common assistive technologies and how websites like ours are built to work with them.

Understanding Assistive Technologies

An assistive technology is any device, software, or equipment that helps a person with a disability perform tasks they would otherwise find difficult or impossible. On the web, these technologies interact directly with your browser and the underlying code of each page.

When a website is built correctly — with semantic HTML, proper headings, and meaningful labels — assistive technologies can interpret and present the content in whatever form the user needs: spoken aloud, displayed in braille, magnified, or navigated entirely by keyboard.

Vision

Screen Readers

A screen reader is software that converts on-screen text and interface elements into speech or braille output. It reads the page aloud, announces links, buttons, and headings, and lets users navigate by jumping between sections.

Common screen readers include JAWS and NVDA on Windows, VoiceOver on macOS and iOS, TalkBack on Android, and Orca on Linux. Most modern operating systems include a built-in screen reader at no extra cost.

For screen readers to work well, websites must use proper heading levels, label all form fields, provide alternative text for images, and use ARIA attributes where needed.

Screen Magnifiers

Screen magnifiers enlarge a portion of the screen, allowing people with low vision to read text and see interface elements more clearly. Users can typically zoom from 2x to 36x magnification.

ZoomText is a popular dedicated magnifier for Windows. Every major operating system also includes a built-in zoom feature. On the web, a well-designed site should remain usable at up to 400% zoom without horizontal scrolling or content loss.

Braille Displays

A refreshable braille display is a hardware device that sits in front of the keyboard and raises small pins to form braille characters in real-time. It translates whatever a screen reader is currently reading into tactile output.

These devices are essential for people who are both deaf and blind, as they cannot rely on audio output. They typically display between 14 and 80 braille characters at a time.

High Contrast and Colour Filters

People with low vision or colour blindness can adjust their display settings to improve readability. Windows High Contrast Mode replaces all colours with a limited high-contrast palette. Colour filters can compensate for specific types of colour blindness such as protanopia, deuteranopia, or tritanopia.

Dark mode also helps many users by reducing glare and eye strain, especially in low-light environments.

Motor and Physical Disabilities

Keyboard Navigation

Many people cannot use a mouse due to limited hand mobility, tremors, or paralysis. They rely entirely on the keyboard to navigate websites — using Tab to move between links and buttons, Enter to activate them, and arrow keys to browse menus.

For keyboard navigation to work, every interactive element must be reachable and operable via keyboard alone, with a clearly visible focus indicator showing which element is currently selected.

Switch Devices

A switch is a simple button — sometimes as basic as a single large pad — that a person presses to interact with a computer. Switch users typically scan through options one at a time and press the switch when the desired item is highlighted.

Switches come in many forms: hand-operated buttons, sip-and-puff devices controlled by breath, head switches, and foot pedals. Some users operate their entire computer with a single switch.

For switch access to work on the web, all interactive elements must be keyboard-accessible and touch targets should be at least 44 by 44 pixels.

Alternative Pointing Devices

When a standard mouse is not an option, users can choose from a range of alternatives. Trackballs require less hand movement. Head-tracking systems use a camera to follow head movements and translate them into cursor movement. Eye-gaze systems track where the user is looking on screen. Mouth-controlled joysticks respond to tongue or lip movements.

These devices all translate physical movement into cursor control, so websites must ensure that all functionality is available through pointing and clicking, with sufficiently large click targets.

Voice Control

Voice control software allows users to operate their computer entirely by speaking. Users can say commands like "click Sign In" or "scroll down" to navigate a website, dictate text, and interact with form fields.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking is the most established voice control solution. Windows, macOS, and Android all include built-in voice control features. For voice control to work well, links and buttons need descriptive, visible text labels that users can speak aloud.

Hearing

Captions and Subtitles

Captions provide a text alternative for audio content, making videos and live events accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing users. Closed captions can be toggled on or off by the viewer.

For live events, Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) provides word-for-word transcription displayed in real-time. Many video conferencing platforms now include automatic live captioning.

Visual and Vibration Alerts

Users who cannot hear audible notifications can configure their devices to use visual alternatives: a screen flash, an LED light, or a vibration. On the web, important messages should never rely solely on sound — they should always be visible on screen.

Hearing Loops

A hearing loop is a wire installed in a room that transmits audio directly to hearing aids equipped with a telecoil. While primarily used in physical spaces, the same principle applies online: audio content should always have a text alternative.

Cognitive and Learning Disabilities

Text-to-Speech

Unlike a full screen reader, text-to-speech tools simply read selected text aloud without changing how the user navigates the page. This helps people with dyslexia, attention difficulties, or learning disabilities process written content more easily.

Tools like Natural Reader, the Read Aloud browser extension, and Microsoft Immersive Reader offer this functionality. Clear, well-structured content with short paragraphs and simple language makes text-to-speech output easier to follow.

Reading Aids

Several tools help make text more readable for people with dyslexia or other reading difficulties. Specialised fonts like OpenDyslexic shape letters to reduce visual confusion. Reading rulers highlight a single line of text to help maintain focus. Adjustable text spacing helps separate characters and words.

Websites can support these tools by using relative font sizes, allowing users to override styles, and ensuring content reflows properly when text is enlarged or spacing is adjusted.

Simplified Navigation

People with cognitive disabilities benefit from consistent, predictable website layouts. Clear headings, descriptive link text, breadcrumb trails, and logical page structure all reduce cognitive load and make it easier to find information.

Reduced motion settings allow users who experience discomfort from animations to disable or minimise them.

Speech Disabilities

Augmentative and Alternative Communication

People who cannot speak may use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices. These range from simple picture boards to sophisticated speech-generating devices that produce spoken output from text or symbols.

On the web, AAC users often rely on keyboard or switch access to navigate. Ensuring full keyboard accessibility and providing large, clearly labelled interactive elements supports their needs.

Our Mission

At Capiamo, we believe the web should be usable by everyone. Our mission is to help businesses, public institutions, associations, and individuals bring their websites up to accessibility standards — simply and affordably.

Whether you run a corporate website, a government portal, a nonprofit platform, or a personal blog, our accessibility widget integrates in minutes and gives every visitor the tools they need to navigate comfortably. To learn more about how this website meets WCAG 2.2 AAA standards, visit our Accessibility Statement.