Essential practices for ensuring accessibility

Maptionnaire is committed to providing an inclusive engagement platform that is available to the widest possible audience. Our platform is built to adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and 2.2 Level AA, the internationally recognized benchmark for digital inclusion.

Following these standards ensures that our platform helps our customers meet or exceed global legal requirements, including the European Accessibility Act (EAA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In particular, our adherence to WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA aligns with the 2024 ADA Title II Final Rule, which mandates these technical standards for digital services. You can read more about this topic in this article: Accessibility

Understanding the "mapping gap" and equivalent facilitation

While Maptionnaire ensures that all text, buttons, and navigation elements are accessible, digital interactive maps present a unique challenge. Because a background map is a complex visual grid of coordinates, it cannot be "read" by a screen reader in a way that provides an equal experience.

To remain compliant with modern laws like the ADA, you must provide equivalent facilitation. This means that if you ask a question on a map, you must provide a non-map-based way for a user to provide the same information.

How to provide a screen-reader friendly alternative

If your survey requires respondents to interact with a map (e.g., "Draw a route" or "Pin a location"), use one of the following two methods to ensure every user can participate:

Option 1: The "screen reader path" (Best practice)

Use Branching logic to create a dedicated path for users with assistive technology.

1. The gateway question: On the first page of your survey, add a 'Choose One' question: "Are you using a screen reader or other assistive technology that makes map interaction difficult?"

2. The logic: Use branching rules to direct "Yes" respondents to a text-based version of your map questions (e.g., a text box asking for an address or a dropdown menu of neighborhoods) and "No" respondents to the mapping pages.

3. The result: This ensures screen reader users never encounter a "dead end" on a map page.

Option 2: The parallel question

Place a text-based question directly below or after the map question.

1. The map question: "Please mark your favorite park on the map."

2. The alternative: Directly underneath, add an Open question: "If you are unable to use the map, please type the name or address of the park here." Make sure that the field for typing is larger than two rows and that the character limit is set to be high enough.

3. The result: This provides an immediate "workaround" on the same page for anyone who finds the map interface inaccessible.

Sometimes a multiple choice question may be a simpler and more accessible way of asking "where?"

For example, instead of asking respondents to click a geometry on the map (Select map) or place a pin, think about if you can simply list all the places in a multiple choice question. This works well when you need data like where respondents live (i.e. you can list all districts or neighborhoods). 

Check that your survey and pages are accessible: