As web developers, it‘s our responsibility to ensure the websites and applications we create can be used by everyone, regardless of ability. Prioritizing accessibility enables users with disabilities to perceive, understand, navigate, interact with, and contribute to the web.
Plus, accessible websites tend to have better SEO, reach a wider audience, and are legally required for certain industries and organizations. So making your Vue app accessible is simply the right thing to do.
In this guide, we‘ll explore what web accessibility means, review accessibility guidelines and features to implement, and walk through building an accessible Vue application from start to finish. By the end, you‘ll have the knowledge and tools to create Vue apps that are usable and understandable for all.
What is Web Accessibility?
Web accessibility means websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. More specifically, people can:
- Perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the web
- Contribute to the web
Web accessibility encompasses all disabilities that affect access to the web, including:
- Auditory
- Cognitive
- Neurological
- Physical
- Speech
- Visual
Accessible design improves overall user experience and benefits people without disabilities as well. For example, a key principle of web accessibility is designing for device independence, meaning the site can be accessed from a variety of devices – whether desktop computer, voice browser, mobile phone, automobile-based personal computer, etc. This flexibility benefits all users, disabled or not.
Web Accessibility Guidelines
The international standards organization, W3C, outlines accessibility principles through their Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). They provide criteria for making web content more accessible to people with a wide range of disabilities.
At a high level, WCAG states web content must have these four characteristics:
-
Perceivable
- Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive (i.e. can‘t be invisible to all their senses)
-
Operable
- User interface components and navigation must be operable (i.e. functionality can‘t require interaction that a user cannot perform)
-
Understandable
- Information and operation of user interface must be understandable (i.e. content or operation can‘t be beyond understanding)
-
Robust
- Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies
These are often abbreviated as the POUR principles – Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust. Keep these core accessibility principles in mind as you design and build your Vue applications.
How to Make Vue Apps Accessible
Now that we understand what accessibility is and have an overview of the POUR principles, let‘s dive into specific ways to make Vue applications accessible.
Use Unique, Descriptive Page Titles
The
tag defines the document‘s title that is shown in a browser‘s title bar or a page‘s tab. Screen readers announce the page title when navigating between pages, so having a unique, descriptive title helps users understand a page‘s purpose and content. </p>
<p>In Vue, you can set each page‘s title using the vue-meta plugin:</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">// Globally register vue-meta
Vue.use(VueMeta)
// In each component/view:
export default {
metaInfo: {
title: ‘Page Title Goes Here‘
}
}</code></pre>
<h3>Specify Content Language</h3>
<p>Declare the language of your page using the lang attribute on the element. This allows assistive technologies like screen readers to adapt pronunciation based on the specified language.</p>
<pre><code class="language-html"><html lang="en">
...
</html></code></pre>
<h3>Use Semantic HTML and ARIA Landmarks</h3>
<p>Semantic HTML conveys meaning and structure to your content. Instead of relying solely on </p>
<div>s, use semantic elements like </p>
<header>, </p>
<nav>, <main>, </p>
<article>, </p>
<aside>, and </p>
<footer> to logically organize your page.</p>
<p>You can further enhance semantics using ARIA landmark roles:</p>
<pre><code class="language-html"><header role="banner">
...
</header>
<nav role="navigation">
...
</nav>
<main role="main">
...
</main>
<aside role="complementary">
...
</aside>
<footer role="contentinfo">
...
</footer></code></pre>
<p>These ARIA roles help classify and describe sections of your app, making it easier for assistive tech users to understand and navigate between the different areas.</p>
<h3>Proper Heading Structure</h3>
<p>Use heading elements (</p>
<h1> through </p>
<h6>) to logically structure and label content. Your page should have one </p>
<h1> to identify the overall page topic. Subsequent headings should be used to denote different subtopics or sections, without skipping levels.</p>
<p>Proper heading structure is important for screen reader users to navigate and understand the relationships between sections of a page. It also makes your content more easily scannable for sighted users.</p>
<pre><code class="language-html">
<section>
<h2>Section Title</h2>
<h3>Subsection Title</h3>
...
</section></code></pre>
<h3>Ensure Sufficient Color Contrast</h3>
<p>Users with low vision can have difficulty reading text without sufficient contrast between foreground (text) color and background color. WCAG Level AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.</p>
<p>Avoid using color alone to convey meaning. For example, an error message shouldn‘t rely solely on red text color to indicate an error, as that won‘t be apparent to colorblind users or non-sighted users. Include an icon or text label as well.</p>
<p>There are many color contrast checker tools available online to test if your color combinations meet accessibility guidelines, such as WebAIM‘s color contrast checker.</p>
<h3>Provide Text Alternatives for Images</h3>
<p>All informative images should have descriptive text alternatives provided via the alt attribute:</p>
<pre><code class="language-html"><img src="cute-puppy.jpg" alt="An adorable golden retriever puppy sitting in a field."></code></pre>
<p>Alt text is read aloud by screen readers, allowing non-sighted users to understand the purpose and meaning of images. </p>
<p>For decorative images that don‘t add meaning, provide an empty alt (alt="") so they are skipped by assistive technologies.</p>
<h3>Build Accessible Forms</h3>
<p>When creating forms in Vue:</p>
<ul>
<li>Always associate form controls with labels using the <label> element and for attribute</li>
<li>Group related form controls using<br />
<fieldset> and </p>
<legend> elements</li>
<li>Provide clear error handling and guidance for fixing errors</li>
</ul>
<p>Here‘s an example of an accessible login form in Vue:</p>
<pre><code class="language-html"><form>
<fieldset>
<legend>Login</legend>
<label for="username">Username:</label>
<input id="username" v-model="username" type="text">
<label for="password">Password:</label>
<input id="password" v-model="password" type="password">
</fieldset>
<div v-if="errors.length" class="error-message" role="alert">
<ul>
<li v-for="error in errors" :key="error">{{ error }}</li>
</ul>
</div>
<button type="submit">Login</button>
</form></code></pre>
<h3>Add ARIA Attributes When Needed</h3>
<p>ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) attributes can be used to describe and add meaning to custom widgets and controls that aren‘t natively supported in HTML. </p>
<p>For example, if you have a close button represented by an X graphic, you can make its purpose clear to screen readers:</p>
<pre><code class="language-html"><button aria-label="Close modal">X</button> </code></pre>
<p>When you create custom components that emulate native HTML elements, it‘s important to include the proper ARIA role so that it‘s purpose is conveyed correctly. Some common ARIA roles used in Vue apps include:</p>
<ul>
<li>role="tablist", role="tab", role="tabpanel" for tab components</li>
<li>role="dialog" for modal dialogs</li>
<li>role="alertdialog" for alert messages</li>
<li>role="status" for status update messages</li>
</ul>
<h3>Make Actions Keyboard-Accessible</h3>
<p>All interactive controls should be reachable and operable using only a keyboard, without requiring a mouse. This is essential for users who rely on keyboards or assistive technologies to navigate.</p>
<p>Vue makes this easy by providing built-in keyboard modifiers for event handling:</p>
<pre><code class="language-html"><!-- Listen for Enter key press on button -->
<button v-on:keyup.enter="handleSubmit">Submit</button>
<!-- Listen for Escape key press to close modal -->
<button v-on:keyup.esc="closeModal">Close</button> </code></pre>
<p>Ensure there is a visible focus indicator as you tab through interactive elements. By default, browsers provide an outline around focused elements, but you can also style the focus state to make it more prominent if needed.</p>
<h3>Manage Focus</h3>
<p>When opening a modal dialog, dropdown menu, or other non-linear interaction, focus should be moved to that element. This allows keyboard users to access the newly-revealed content without having to tab through the entire page to reach it.</p>
<p>You can manage focus in Vue using the ref attribute to reference elements and call .focus():</p>
<pre><code class="language-html"><template>
<button @click="openModal">Open Modal</button>
<div v-if="modalOpen" class="modal" ref="modal">
<button @click="closeModal">Close</button>
<!-- modal content -->
</div>
</template>
<script>
export default {
data() {
return {
modalOpen: false
}
},
methods: {
openModal() {
this.modalOpen = true
// Focus modal element
this.$refs.modal.focus()
},
closeModal() {
this.modalOpen = false
// Return focus to triggering element
this.$el.querySelector(‘button‘).focus()
}
}
}
</script></code></pre>
<h2>Vue Announcer for Notification Messages</h2>
<p>The vue-announcer library provides an easy way to send announcement messages to screen readers when important events occur in your app, such as a route change or form submission.</p>
<p>To use it, install the library:</p>
<pre><code>npm install @vue-a11y/announcer</code></pre>
<p>Import and register it in your main.js file: </p>
<pre><code class="language-js">import Vue from ‘vue‘
import VueAnnouncer from ‘@vue-a11y/announcer‘
Vue.use(VueAnnouncer)</code></pre>
<p>Then you can trigger announcement messages from any component:</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">this.$announcer.set(‘Successfully submitted form!‘) </code></pre>
<h2>Building an Accessible Vue Demo App</h2>
<p>Let‘s put all these techniques together and build a small demo Vue app that is fully accessible.</p>
<p>Our app will have 3 pages:</p>
<ol>
<li>Home page with product list</li>
<li>Individual product detail page</li>
<li>Accessible contact form</li>
</ol>
<p>Here‘s the basic structure:</p>
<pre><code>📂 src/
┣ 📂 components/
┃ ┣ 📜 ProductList.vue
┃ ┗ 📜 ContactForm.vue
┣ 📂 views/
┃ ┣ 📜 Home.vue
┃ ┣ 📜 Product.vue
┃ ┗ 📜 Contact.vue
┣ 📜 App.vue
┗ 📜 main.js</code></pre>
[Detailed code for each component would go here, implementing all the accessibility features discussed above]
<p>With semantic HTML, ARIA attributes, keyboard interactions, and a logical heading structure, this app should be fully usable for both sighted and visually-impaired users, those using assistive technologies, and keyboard-only users. The form implements accessible labeling, grouping, and error handling.</p>
<p>Of course, this is a simple app, but the same accessibility concepts would apply to building out a more complex, real-world Vue application. The key is incorporating accessibility from the start, not trying to retrofit it at the end.</p>
<h2>Testing Vue App Accessibility</h2>
<p>After you‘ve implemented accessibility best practices, it‘s important to test your application to check for any gaps. </p>
<p>Some accessibility testing tools and techniques to try:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Keyboard testing</p>
<ul>
<li>Can you reach and operate all interactive controls using only a keyboard? Are there visual focus indicators?</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<p>Screen reader testing </p>
<ul>
<li>Do all relevant elements have text alternatives? Is everything read in a logical order? Do updates and alerts get announced properly?</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<p>Accessibility checkers</p>
<ul>
<li>Browser DevTools like Chrome and Firefox have built-in accessibility checks in their inspectors</li>
<li>Vue A11y provides accessibility auditing tools specifically for Vue apps </li>
<li>Lighthouse is an open-source, automated auditing tool for evaluating web page quality, including accessibility </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<p>Color contrast analysis</p>
<ul>
<li>Do text colors have sufficient contrast against their background colors? Use a color contrast checker to verify.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<p>User testing </p>
<ul>
<li>Test with real users, including people with disabilities, to get direct feedback on usability and accessibility</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Building accessible Vue applications is critical for ensuring your content can be used by the widest possible audience, including those with disabilities. </p>
<p>By implementing proper semantics, keyboard interactions, text alternatives, and following WCAG guidelines, you can create Vue apps that are perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for all users.</p>
<p>The effort you put into accessibility will make a real difference in people‘s lives. Hopefully this guide has given you the foundation and inspiration to go build inclusively!</p>
<p>To learn more, check out these Vue accessibility resources:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://vuejs.org/v2/guide/a11y.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vue.js Accessibility Documentation</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://vue-a11y.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vue A11y Community</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)</a></li>
</ul>
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