• 4 min čtení
When I was thinking about what to bring to #MAUIUIJULY 2025 accessibility came to mind.
Chapters in this series:
The topic is current as the EU Accessibility Act came to effect right before the start of July 2025.
As I was recently handling some of the issues related to this topic I'd like to share some useful tips and techniques that I came accross. Whether it's for mobile apps in general or more specifically focused on MAUI development.
If you're already decided to go ahead to manage accessibility in your apps and are looking for some useful tips you can skip over this introduction. However, if you're not convinced that you even need to deal with it, let's take a look at why you might want to reconsider.
Nice UX
Starting with the "least" significant reason when we're thinking about accessibility in apps it brings up a lot of decisions that deal with user interfaces and user experience in general. Some parts of accessibility issues like adding alternative texts for visual elements can be solved pretty easily and are straight-forward to be identified. Other things like font scaling, size of tap targets and contrast related issues can bring us to consider how users interact with our applications and what can be improved to make our apps easier to navigate and use.
Localization & globalization
Next area where apps can benefit is when we're dealing with localization & globalization. Once we think in terms of accessibility and design our apps with it in mind it helps us in this area as well. The UI that is able to scale with increasing font size will also be able to deal with texts being shorter or longer in different languages and won't be sized strictly. This kind of mindset can help us approach users in other countries when the application is expanding to multiple markets.
Aging userbase
Smartphones nowadays are used by everyone and the userbase is expanding to older users as we move forward. This is accompanied with the aging population worldwide so we can only expect more people using apps regularly who might use some kind of assistive technology due to the conditions accompanying vision and hearing loss in older ages.
Apple Accessibility Nutrition Labels
Apple launched its Accessibility Nutrition Labels program in May 2025. This initiative gives developers a way to showcase their apps' capabilities directly in the App Store. By properly implementing individual accessibility features we can use accessibility not only to help users but also to market it towards a larger audience. The labels cover essential features including screen reader support, keyboard navigation, sufficient color contrast, reduced motion options, and captioning capabilities. Apple's approach signals a broader industry shift where inclusive design becomes a competitive strategy rather than an afterthought.
EU Accessibility Act
Still not convinced by the business case? If we plan to make our applications available in the EU market, we should definitely pay attention to accessibility due to European Accessibility Act (EAA) coming into effect on June 28th 2025. It represents the most significant accessibility legislation to explicitly cover mobile applications. This directive requires digital services, including mobile apps, to meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA accessibility standards across all EU member states.
The scope is comprehensive, covering apps in key sectors including:
- E-commerce platforms and online marketplaces
- Banking and financial services
- Transport booking and ticketing systems
- Digital communication services
- Audiovisual media services
Importantly, the EAA applies to any organization offering services to EU consumers, regardless of whether the business is based within the EU.
The timeline for implementing EAA is structured:
- June 28th 2025: All new digital products and services must comply immediately
- June 30th 2030: Existing products and services must be brought into compliance
Closing up
In this introduction I wanted to make a case for accessibility in general. The last but most significant reason for me to deal with accessibility is compassion. As people with some kind of a disability make up about 16% of the world's population it's important to think of enabling better experiences and opportunities for everyone out there.
As I believe that the companies and developers that have this in mind don't need no more reason to work on their accessibility push I thought this would be just preaching to the choir. That's why I started by pushing for the business case that could show also to the rest that this initiative makes a lot of sense.
But enough with the introduction - thanks for making it all the way here and let's move on how we can start managing accessibility in .NET MAUI apps!