Accessibility improvements - Form

[Michelle_Tuten]

Good morning,
I did an accessibility test of a form that I built through AirTable and found the following issues that I would like to suggest that you repair.
I would like to create a similar form that will be available to the public through our website, but until the accessibility improves, I will not be able to do so.

• Checkbox box and other input field borders need stronger color contrast.
• Linked text need stronger color contrast.
• Markers indicating the Required status of questions do not have strong enough color contrast.
• Checkbox field needs a label in order for screen reader users to know what “clickable” means.
• Single Line Text fields should really have programmatically identified labels for screen reader users. Perhaps the title/question as worded in the form could be used as the label.
• For mulit-select option with the list format, it would be nice if the checkboxes were programmed to be announced as checkboxes to screen reader users. Also, if these options were truly in a list format, a screen reader user should be able to hear “List with [ # ] list items,” before entering the list.
• For the single-select option with the list format, it would be nice if the radio buttons were programmed to be announced as radio buttons to screen reader users. Also, if these options were truly in a list format, a screen reader user should be able to hear “List with [ # ] list items,” before entering the list.
• I would like to request that the form design be double checked to make sure it does not cause a keyboard trap when a screenreader/keyboard users tabs through a page in which the form is embedded. In my quick test, it appeared to me that it does cause a keyboard trap prior to submitting a response. Once a response is submitted, the Add another response button is not accessible to the screenreader/keyboard user, but the user is no longer trapped in the iFrame.
• When required fields are not filled out, the error message does not have strong enough color contrast.
• Fields that require a URL allow submissions of non-URL content. I think that adding an error message that appears when the submission does not include http:// is good usability, if not accessibility.
• The Submit button and " Never submit passwords through Airtable forms. Report abuse." message at the bottom of the form, does not have strong enough color contrast.
• I did not see where the Report Abuse link was included in the Tab order.

[Cammi_Carpenter]

@Michelle_Tuten
Hi Michelle,
I was wondering if anyone from AirTable ever responded to your suggestions. I work at a University Library and we can’t even license AirTable because of these issues. I’m hoping they will be resolved.
Thank you,
Cammi

[Michelle_Tuten]

If they did, they did so without informing me directly (they may have announced changes through their release notes though). I have not tested it a second time to see what improvements they may have made, but glancing through my list once more, I don’t think they’ve addressed any of these.

[ShelleyB]

Thanks for posting this Michelle. We would love to see this addressed. The ease of admin use of airtable forms is great, but we need accessibility on the front end to be able to deploy.

[Dianna_f]

For anyone else with this issue. We resolved it using JotForm which not only addresses accessibility issues but also actually has validation which is a band-aid for airtable not doing data validation :expressionless: They have an integration guideline here which I can’t post the link to but if you google 561-How-to-integrate-JotForm-with-Airtable you’ll find it

[Jonathan_H]

I love Airtable, I really do, but I’m disappointed to find that this is still a real problem for people with vision impairment almost 2 years on.

Thank you @Dianna_f for suggesting Jotform integration - I was suprised to find it worked because I am on the airtable free plan which doesn’t include apps. I am guessing this counts as an automation? In which case, can someone from @Airtable like @Jason confirm that I can get 100 form submissions on my current plan? That would be more than enough.

However, I do really like the prefill feature of Airtable forms, so it would be preferable to address Airtable’s own form accessibilty, particularly the contrast. Thank you!

[judielaine]

I've just had someone with visual impairments complain about the accessibility of a form made with airtable.

[Michelle_Tuten]

I doubt that replying to this post will get this information to those who need to know it, but perhaps some of you who have replied previously (or those who are seeing this for the first time) can help it get to the right place.

Justice Department to Publish Final Rule to Strengthen Web and Mobile App Access for People with Dis...

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today signed a final rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure the accessibility of web content and mobile applications (apps) for people with disabilities. 

In short, public entities will have 2 or 3 years to meet WCAG 2.1 A and AA once the final rule is published. Here is a fact sheet about the final rule.

I stopped using AirTable a few years ago even though I loved much of its functionalities because of its accessibility issues. I can't speak to its current accessibility issues but, considering that the last post to this conversation occurred earlier this year, I would bet there are still problems.