Shared Web Experiences:
Barriers Common to Mobile Device Users and People with Disabilities

If you want current information on mobile accessibility — that is, people with disabilities using content on mobile devices, see https://www.w3.org/WAI/mobile/

This page is archived. We do not plan to update it. It was developed in 2008. Much of the information is still relevant today. It is useful for understanding that:

  • Many of the issues around designing for mobile devices are addressed by designing for people with disabilities.
  • When you address accessibility, you improve the mobile experience. This can help in presenting your business case for accessibility.

Background

People with disabilities using computers have similar interaction limitations as people without disabilities who are using mobile devices. Both experience similar barriers when interacting with websites and web applications. There is also significant overlap between the design solutions for both. For more background, see:

A comprehensive comparison between MWBP and WCAG is provided in Relationship between Mobile Web Best Practices (MWBP) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

Introduction

The barriers on this page are grouped under four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. These principles lay the foundation necessary for anyone to access and use web content, as described in Understanding the Four Principles of Accessibility section of Introduction to Understanding WCAG 2.0. (Mobile devices vary widely and not all the barriers are present on all models.)

This page includes links to some relevant solutions in:

The information below is also available in tabular format.

Contents

Perceivable

Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.

Experiences discussed below are also available in tabular format.

Operable

User interface components and navigation must be operable.

Experiences discussed below are also available in tabular format.

Understandable

Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable.

Experiences discussed below are also available in tabular format.

Robust

Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.

Experiences discussed below are also available in tabular format.

Back to Top