How accessible are Surbee surveys for respondents?

Every survey you publish with Surbee includes a set of accessibility features. You don't need to turn anything on, and they work with every theme.

Keyboard

Respondents can complete a survey with the keyboard alone.

• Every question, option and button can be reached with Tab, and the focused element has a clear outline.
• Choice and checkbox options use standard form controls, so arrow keys and the space bar work the way people expect.
• Ranking questions have move up and move down buttons, so items can be reordered without dragging.
• Signature questions offer Type your signature instead for anyone who can't draw with a mouse or finger.

Screen readers

• Each question is connected to its label, its subtitle and any error message, so a screen reader reads them together.
• Required questions are announced as required.
• When a respondent moves to a new section, it is announced, for example "Page 2 of 5", and focus moves to the top of the new section.
• If someone tries to continue with a required question unanswered, they hear how many questions need an answer, and focus moves to the first one.
• With a time limit on, the time remaining is announced at 5 minutes, 1 minute, 30 seconds and 10 seconds.
• In a Repeating group, adding or removing an entry is announced.

Listen: read the survey aloud

Surveys show a Listen button at the top when the respondent's browser supports speech. Pressing it reads the current section aloud and highlights each part as it is read.

While it is playing, respondents can:

• pause and resume,
• skip back or forward,
• stop listening.

When they move to the next section, Surbee reads the new section. When they move focus to a question, Surbee reads that question. The voice comes from the respondent's own device, so it varies by browser and operating system.

Automatic color contrast

Faint text is a barrier for many people, including anyone reading on a phone in bright light. If your theme's colors would give text or buttons too little contrast against the background, Surbee adjusts them on the live survey to meet the WCAG 2.1 AA contrast level of 4.5 to 1. Text on your buttons is set to black or white, whichever reads better on your button color.

Your saved theme does not change. To see the colors exactly as you chose them, pick colors with stronger contrast. See Customize the look.

Phones and small screens

Surveys adapt to the screen they are opened on. Grid questions such as Likert and Matrix stack one row at a time on narrow screens, so respondents don't need to scroll sideways.

What you can do as the author

Surbee handles the structure, but the content is yours:

• Write clear question labels. Every question should make sense on its own when read aloud, without relying on its position on the page.
• Describe your images. If an image carries meaning, say what it shows in the text around it.
• Avoid color-only meaning. Don't ask people to "pick the green option".
• Keep required questions to the ones you need.
• Be careful with time limits. People using assistive technology may need longer. Leave the limit off unless it matters.
• Check custom code. Content in a Custom code block is yours to make accessible.

Our accessibility statement

Surbee aims to meet WCAG 2.1 level AA. Our accessibility statement lists what we support and the known limitations we are still working on. If a respondent runs into a barrier, please open a support ticket so we can look into it.