Additional accessibility options - what these are for and how to use them

It is possible to apply additional accessibility options for two answer components within Citizen Space. These are the 'single line text' and 'date' answer components.

In this article we’ll discuss:

What are additional accessibility labels for?

The purpose of adding additional accessibility options is to enable those using assistive technologies (such as screen readers) to automatically know more about what information Citizen Space is asking for. There are many different ways that assistive technologies can be configured, but some users may have their assistive technologies set up to auto populate common fields (such as name or date of birth), or may simply benefit from the screen reader being able to better understand what Citizen Space is asking it, because the additional accessibility labels have been applied in a standardised way.

We recommend further reading on the subject of accessibility. These pages from Web Accessibility Initiative are a good place to start (opens in new tab).

Additional accessibility options

Date component

The additional accessibility option for the 'Date' answer component provides the opportunity to specify that the question is asking for the user to input a date of birth. So, if you are asking for a date of birth, simply check the box, as seen in the image below:

Image of the Additional accessibility option for date answer component section with the checkbox selected for date of birth selected. Screenshot.

Single line text component

The additional accessibility option for the 'Single line text' answer component contains a number of different ways in which to specify what the answer component is expecting the user to input (based on the question that has been asked).

The following input options are available:

  • Full name
  • Title or prefix (e.g. "Mr.", "Ms.", "Dr.")
  • First name Middle name
  • Surname
  • Suffix (e.g. "Jr.", "B.Sc.", "II")
  • Nickname, screen name or handle
  • Job title
  • Company name
  • Street address
  • Country name
  • Country code (e.g. "GB", "DE", "US")
  • Preferred language
  • Gender identity or sex
  • URL or web page
  • Full telephone number, including country code

To apply the additional accessibility option to your single line text answer component, simply choose the relevant one from the drop down list, and then select 'Add Component'. Only one option can be chosen per answer component.

Dropdown list for the additional accessibility options section for single line answer component with all options showing. Screenshot.

Editing / removing additional accessibility options

It is possible to remove or edit these options should you need to. This is done in the same way as editing any answer component, as described in this article.

Can the additional accessibility options be seen in the online survey?

No, the additional options will only ever be used by assistive technologies and will not be viewable on the page in the traditional way. If you wish to provide guidance that is accessible to all users, you should use the standard Accessibility label.