Screen reader basics for designers and engineers
A screen reader is software installed on your desktop computer or mobile device that reads out loud what’s on screen and enables you to interact via touch, gestures or a wide variety of keyboard shortcuts.
Screen readers are used by people with sight loss, or who have limited vision. They are used by people with learning difficulties. They are used by people with reading difficulties, such as dyslexia. They are used by people who just want to interact or read in a different way.
If you’re designing or building anything for digital devices – including websites, web apps and native apps – it’s essential you test your work using a screen reader.
What options are there
There are six main screen reader titles available: JAWS, NVDA, Narrator, Voiceover, Talkback, Dolphin. They all do basically the same thing, but like with language learning apps, or social media platforms, there are differences in how they work and what works best for an individual person.
| Name | Operating system | Device type | Free/paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| JAWS | Windows | Desktop | Paid |
| NVDA | Windows | Desktop | Free |
| Narrator | Windows | Desktop | Free |
| Dolphin | Windows | Desktop | Paid |
| VoiceOver | MacOS, iOS | Desktop/mobile | Free |
| TalkBack | Android | Mobile | Free |
JAWS
JAWS (Job Access With Speech) is a paid-for screen reader for Windows. It has been around a long time and has lots of users. According the last WebAIM Screen Reader User Survey in 2021, on desktop 70% of respondents use JAWS on Windows. Its market share has been eroded in recent years by free and pre-installed options such as NVDA, but remains popular. Find out more, download and buy on the Freedom Scientific website.
NVDA
NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) is a screen reader for Windows. It’s free, but on their website they ask for donations, saying they believe everyone, “especially the world’s poorest blind people deserve access to computers and a way out of poverty”. Find out more, download and donate on the NV Access website.
Narrator
Narrator is the free, built-in screen reader shipped with Windows 10 and Windows 11. It is less popular than JAWS and NVDA for Windows, but is improving with each release. Fin out more on Microsoft’s Complete guide to Narrator.
Dolphin
Dolphin ScreenReader is a paid-for screen reader from British company, Dolphin Computer Access. They have a variety of products available to help people access digital devices. You can download a free trial of the Dolphin ScreenReader from the Dolphin Computer Access website.
VoiceOver
VoiceOver is the free, built-in screen reader on MacOS desktop devices and iOS mobile devices. For Mac and iOS users, VoiceOver is the foremost screen reader option. It works best with Safari, but has decent support for other browsers on desktop. Apple launched the iPhone with accessibility in mind and revolutionised mobile device accessibility for millions of people. It remains the most popular mobile device and screen-reader combination, with 72% of the mobile market, according to the last WebAIM Screen Reader User Survey. Find out more on the official VoiceOver User Guide for macOS Sonoma and the iPhone User Guide.
TalkBack
TalkBack is the free, built-in screen reader for Android mobile devices. For Android smartphone users, TalkBack is the most popular option and gets continuous improvements. Find out more on Google’s Android accessibility help pages for TalkBack.
Browser combinations
Screen readers are used at an operating system level. Meaning, they help you navigate around the whole system, not just the Internet.
But, if you’re concerned with how well your website or web app will work with screen readers, then you’ll need to know that different screen readers work best with specific browsers.
As you’d expect, VoiceOver is tested by Apple with Safari. Narrator by Microsoft with Edge. The independents tend to test with either Chrome or Firefox. Check with individual screen reader makers’ websites for latest browser compatibilities.
What’s perhaps more interesting than what the screen reader makers test with, is what people actually use.
| Name | Most used browsers (% of total users) |
|---|---|
| JAWS | Chrome (32.5%), Edge (12.6%), Firefox (4.8%) |
| NVDA | Chrome (16%), Firefox (9.7%) |
| Narrator | No data |
| Dolphin | No data |
| VoiceOver | Safari (4.6%), Chrome (1.6%) |
Do I have to test every combination?
Of course, the best thing to do is test everything and every change, in every combination, with every kind of user. But we live in the real world.
If you have the budget and the time resource maybe, JAWS+Chrome, NVDA+Chrome and Voiceover(iOS)+Safari are the best three combinations to test with right now.
Things you need to consider, when deciding on which combinations to officially support, include:
- What you know about how your own users interact with their devices
- Your budget
- The number of people needing a licence
- The amount of time available for testing
- Your product’s existing browser compatibility
Keep your content layer simple
When it comes to screen reader compatibility of UI features, components, html or css, the more simple and standards-compliant you can keep things in the content layer, the more likely it’ll just work well across all screen readers. The same already applies to browser compatibility (although less so with mature rendering agents).
Getting started: learn the basic commands
If you’re new to using a screen reader, it can feel a bit overwhelming at first – there are a lot of new commands to learn, and your computer is now constantly talking at you. Stick with it. You’ll get the hang of it quickly.
Commands I recommend you get familiar with right away include:
- How to turn it on and off – because, you might only want it on when you’re testing, so toggling on-and-off quickly is really helpful.
- How to mute it – because you might need to quieten it, especially if you’re doing a demonstration and need to speak.
- How to slow down and speed up the voice – because, at first it might be too fast for you, but you’ll soon want it to speak really quickly.
Here are links to the basic commands and hotkeys to get started with each of the main screen readers:
JAWS
NVDA
Narrator
Dolphin
VoiceOver for MacOS
VoiceOver for iOS
Summary
Whichever screen reader you choose to support and test with, just get started. Don’t be afraid of it. Just by experiencing your web page or app feature using a screen reader will give you new insight into your users. And you’ll quickly start finding ways to make your markup, designs and user experience better than ever for everyone.