Live Chat Accessibility
Updated
Embracing "Passionate, Genuine Care" as our core value, we are committed to ensuring the accessibility of our products for everyone. That's why we've ensured that Sprinklr live chat complies with WCAG 2.1 AA, and we're actively progressing towards achieving WCAG 2.2 AA compliance as well.
What is Accessibility and why is it needed?
Web accessibility is the practice of designing websites and applications to accommodate users of all abilities, promoting equal access to information and services. This commitment is crucial for fostering an inclusive online experience and eliminating barriers for individuals with disabilities.
The necessity for web accessibility stems from legal obligations and ethical considerations. Laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and global standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) mandate that digital content must be accessible. These regulations set forth guidelines for developers, ensuring that websites are perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
WCAG standards are the most widely used standard to achieve and measure accessibility. It outlines specific criteria and success factors, addressing issues such as text alternatives for non-text content, keyboard accessibility, and adaptable content. By adhering to WCAG, developers systematically enhance website accessibility, making online information and services available to a broader audience and reinforcing the principle of equal access for all.
The following are its different versions of WCAG compliance:
WCAG 2.0: Published in 2008, it was the first major version. It provides guidelines for making web content accessible and is organized into four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
WCAG 2.1: Released in 2018, it builds upon WCAG 2.0 by adding new guidelines and success criteria. It addresses emerging technologies and mobile accessibility.
WCAG 2.2: An update published in 2023, further extends the guidelines to enhance accessibility.
On top of these versions, for each version there are three conformance levels, as follows:
Level A (Lowest): Basic accessibility requirements that address common barriers. Conforming to Level A ensures a minimum level of accessibility.
Level AA (Mid-range): More comprehensive requirements that enhance accessibility. Conforming to Level AA means meeting both Level A and AA criteria.
Level AAA (Highest): The most stringent requirements, providing the highest level of accessibility. Conforming to Level AAA includes all Level A and AA criteria.
Sprinklr live chat is WCAG 2.1 AA compliant for both web and mobile* and is actively progressing towards achieving WCAG 2.2 AA compliance.
Use Cases of Accessibility in Mobile and Web
The primary use cases of accessibility are as follows:
Assistive technologies: People with disabilities use assistive technologies such as screen readers, magnifiers, and voice recognition software to access web and mobile content. The web and mobile content thus need to work in sync with these technologies.
Keyboard navigation: Some users may not be able to use a mouse or touch screen to navigate a website or mobile app.
In live chat when user traverses through tab, the focus shifts from one message to next and to focus on any subpart of a message like dropdown field of a message, enter must be pressed. This ensures lesser number of clicks for the user increasing usability.
Alternative text: Alternative text (alt text) is a description of an image that is read aloud by a screen reader.
Colour contrast: People with colour blindness or low vision may have difficulty distinguishing between colours.
In Sprinklr live chat UI, we ensure that the contrast ratio between text and background should be minimum 4.5:1, thus on basis of background colour system automatically assigns charcoal or white colour to the text respectively.
Captioning and transcripts: Videos on websites and mobile apps should have captions or transcripts to make them accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. System reads out and show the exact details on when message was sent and by whom it was sent, if the message is an asset, what’s its type etc.
Font scaling: For both mobile device and website, font legibility must be ensured for users with varying vision abilities by adapting font sizes to different screens and maintaining readability across devices.
User Experience of Accessibility
Following video demonstrates a typical user journey in which the user uses virtual keyboard and tab to switch between different elements of the website. It also demonstrates the screen reader and alternate text feature.
Next Steps for Advancing Accessibility
We are working in a time bound manner to achieve WCAG 2.2 AA compliance by end of first quarter of 2025.