Accessibility Isn’t Optional: Hire an iOS Developer to Build Inclusive Apps
Carl Bailey
Accessibility Isn't Optional: Hire an iOS Developer to Build Inclusive Apps
What is Mobile App Accessibility and Why Does It Matter?
The Moral Case: Digital Inclusion for All
The Business Case: Expanding Your User Base
The Legal Risks of Inaccessible Apps
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
International Laws (AODA, EAA)
Core iOS Accessibility Features Your Developer Must Master
VoiceOver: The Eyes-Free Experience
Dynamic Type: Readable Text for Everyone
Switch Control and Voice Control
Color Contrast and Motion
How to Hire a Developer with Accessibility Expertise
Interview Questions for Accessibility
Portfolio Review with an Accessibility Lens
The Value of Empathy and User-Centricity
Conclusion
References
Accessibility Isn't Optional: Hire an iOS Developer to Build Inclusive Apps
What if a significant portion of your potential audience couldn't use your app? For millions of people with disabilities, this is a daily reality. App accessibility is the practice of designing and developing applications that everyone, regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities, can use effectively. It's not just a matter of social responsibility; it's a legal requirement and a smart business decision that expands your market reach.
When you hire an iOS developer, ensuring they have expertise in accessibility is as critical as their knowledge of Swift. A developer who understands secure coding principles can also appreciate the importance of building a robust and trustworthy app for all users. The connection makes sense—both practices require attention to detail and a commitment to protecting every user's experience.
Think about it this way. Your app might be the gateway to essential services for someone. Whether it's banking, shopping, or staying connected with loved ones, excluding users with disabilities means leaving money on the table and, more importantly, failing to serve a significant portion of society. The good news? Building accessible apps isn't as complex as many believe, especially when you work with the right developer.
What is Mobile App Accessibility and Why Does It Matter?
Mobile app accessibility means creating apps that work for everyone. This includes people who are blind or have low vision, those who are deaf or hard of hearing, individuals with motor impairments, and users with cognitive differences. It's about removing barriers that prevent people from using your app effectively.
The concept goes beyond adding a few features here and there. True accessibility requires thinking about diverse users from the very beginning of the design process. It means considering how someone might navigate your app using only voice commands, or how a person with tremors might struggle with tiny tap targets. When developers build with accessibility in mind, they create better experiences for everyone—not just users with disabilities.
The Moral Case: Digital Inclusion for All
Let's start with the human side of this equation. Apps have become essential tools for modern life. We use them to manage our finances, order groceries, communicate with doctors, and stay connected with friends and family. When an app isn't accessible, it's like putting up a "closed" sign for millions of potential users.
Consider Sarah, a marketing professional who lost her vision in her thirties. She relies on her iPhone's VoiceOver feature to navigate apps. When she encounters an app with unlabeled buttons or images without descriptions, she's stuck. She can't complete her purchase, check her account balance, or book that appointment. The frustration is real, and it's completely avoidable.
Digital inclusion isn't charity—it's about recognizing that people with disabilities are active participants in the digital economy. They work, shop, travel, and engage with technology just like everyone else. By building accessible apps, you're not doing anyone a favor. You're simply ensuring your product works for all your potential customers.
The ripple effects extend beyond individual users. When you make your app accessible, you're also helping family members, caregivers, and friends who might be assisting someone with a disability. You're contributing to a more inclusive society where technology empowers rather than excludes.
The Business Case: Expanding Your User Base
Now let's talk numbers, because accessibility makes excellent business sense. The global disability market represents over 1 billion people with a combined disposable income of $13 trillion annually. In the United States alone, people with disabilities represent the third-largest market segment after millennials and baby boomers.
Here's what many businesses miss: when you design for accessibility, you often improve the experience for all users. Those larger tap targets that help users with motor impairments? They also benefit anyone using the app one-handed on a crowded subway. The clear, high-contrast text that aids users with low vision? It's also easier to read in bright sunlight. Captions for videos? They're essential for deaf users but also helpful in noisy environments or quiet spaces where audio isn't appropriate.
Accessible apps see tangible benefits:
Higher user retention rates
Positive brand perception and loyalty
Expanded market reach
Better app store ratings and reviews
Reduced risk of negative publicity
Companies that prioritize accessibility often find themselves ahead of the competition. When users with disabilities find an app that actually works for them, they become loyal advocates. They share their experiences within their communities, leading to organic growth through word-of-mouth marketing.
The Legal Risks of Inaccessible Apps
Beyond the moral and business arguments, there's a compelling legal case for accessibility. Many businesses don't realize they could face lawsuits for having an inaccessible app. The legal landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years, with courts increasingly viewing digital accessibility as a civil rights issue.
Ignoring accessibility isn't just ethically questionable—it's legally risky. The number of digital accessibility lawsuits has skyrocketed, with thousands filed each year in the U.S. alone. These lawsuits can result in expensive settlements, legal fees, and mandatory remediation costs. More importantly, they damage brand reputation and consumer trust.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The ADA, passed in 1990, prohibits discrimination based on disability in all areas of public life. While the law predates smartphones, U.S. courts have increasingly interpreted it to cover digital properties, including mobile apps. The reasoning is straightforward: if your physical store must be accessible, why should your digital storefront be any different?
Recent court cases have established clear precedents. Major retailers, airlines, and service providers have faced lawsuits for inaccessible apps. Courts have consistently ruled that if an app is connected to a physical location or provides access to goods and services, it must be accessible under the ADA.
The Department of Justice has also weighed in, stating that the ADA applies to all goods and services offered by public accommodations, including those offered online. This interpretation leaves little room for doubt—if your app serves the public, it needs to be accessible.
What does this mean for your business? Simply put, an inaccessible app is a lawsuit waiting to happen. The costs of litigation far exceed the investment in building accessibility from the start. Smart businesses recognize this and prioritize accessibility as a risk mitigation strategy.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
While the ADA provides the legal framework, it doesn't specify exactly how to make an app accessible. That's where WCAG comes in. These guidelines, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), have become the de facto standard for digital accessibility worldwide.
WCAG operates on four main principles. Content must be:
Perceivable: Users must be able to perceive the information presented
Operable: Interface components must be operable by all users
Understandable: Information and UI operation must be understandable
Robust: Content must work with various assistive technologies
The guidelines include specific success criteria at three levels: A (minimum), AA (recommended), and AAA (enhanced). Most legal standards reference WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the benchmark for compliance. This includes requirements like providing text alternatives for images, ensuring sufficient color contrast, and making all functionality available via keyboard.
For mobile apps, these principles translate into specific requirements. Every image needs alternative text. Videos require captions. Interactive elements must be large enough to tap easily. The app must work with screen readers and other assistive technologies. Meeting these standards isn't just about avoiding lawsuits—it's about creating apps that work better for everyone.
International Laws (AODA, EAA)
The push for digital accessibility extends far beyond U.S. borders. Countries worldwide are implementing laws requiring accessible digital products, and the trend is accelerating.
Canada's Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) requires organizations to make their websites and web content accessible. The law applies to private and non-profit organizations with 50 or more employees, and non-compliance can result in significant fines.
The European Accessibility Act (EAA), which takes effect in 2025, will require accessibility for a wide range of products and services, including computers, smartphones, and e-commerce. This law will affect any company doing business in the EU, regardless of where they're based.
Other countries, including Australia, Japan, and Israel, have similar laws in place or under development. The message is clear: digital accessibility is becoming a global requirement, not just a nice-to-have feature.
Core iOS Accessibility Features Your Developer Must Master
Apple has long been a leader in accessibility, building powerful features directly into iOS. A skilled iOS developer needs to understand these features inside and out. It's not enough to know they exist—developers must know how to implement them properly to create truly accessible experiences.
The iOS accessibility stack is comprehensive, covering visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive needs. Each feature requires careful implementation and testing. Let's explore the key features your developer must master to build an inclusive app.
VoiceOver: The Eyes-Free Experience
VoiceOver is iOS's built-in screen reader, and it's incredibly sophisticated. When activated, it speaks aloud what's on the screen, allowing blind and low-vision users to navigate apps through touch and gestures. But here's the thing—VoiceOver only works well when developers do their part.
Every element in your app needs proper labeling. A button that visually shows a shopping cart icon means nothing to VoiceOver unless the developer adds a label like "Shopping cart, 3 items." Images need descriptions that convey their meaning, not just their appearance. A photo in a news app shouldn't just be labeled "image"—it needs context like "Protesters gathering outside city hall."
Developers must also provide hints for complex interactions. If a button opens a menu when long-pressed, VoiceOver users need to know that. Custom controls require extra attention to ensure they announce their state correctly. Is that toggle switch on or off? Is the accordion menu expanded or collapsed? These details matter.
The best developers test with VoiceOver throughout development, not as an afterthought. They understand that VoiceOver users navigate differently, often swiping through elements sequentially. This means the order of elements matters, and developers need to ensure logical flow through the interface.
Dynamic Type: Readable Text for Everyone
Dynamic Type allows users to adjust text size across all apps from their device settings. This feature helps users with low vision, but also benefits anyone who prefers larger text for comfort. The challenge for developers? Making sure the app looks good and functions properly at any text size.
This isn't as simple as making text bigger. When text grows, layouts need to adapt intelligently. A button that looks perfect at the default size might overflow its boundaries when text is enlarged. Labels might overlap, or important information might get cut off. Skilled developers use Auto Layout constraints that adapt to content size, ensuring the interface remains usable and attractive.
Dynamic Type also affects more than just body text. Developers need to ensure that all text elements—from navigation bars to button labels—respect the user's preferences. They must test their apps at various text sizes, from the smallest to the largest, checking that nothing breaks and everything remains readable.
The payoff for getting this right is significant. Users who need larger text will actually be able to use your app comfortably, rather than struggling with tiny fonts or giving up entirely. It's a perfect example of how accessibility improvements benefit a broader audience than just those with disabilities.
Switch Control and Voice Control
Not everyone can tap, swipe, or pinch on a touchscreen. Users with motor impairments might use Switch Control, which allows them to navigate iOS using adaptive switches, or Voice Control, which enables complete hands-free operation. Your developer needs to ensure the app works seamlessly with these technologies.
Switch Control users navigate by scanning through interface elements. This means every interactive element must be properly identified and reachable. Custom gestures that require complex movements won't work—everything needs to be achievable through simple selections. Developers must also ensure that the scanning order makes sense and that users can efficiently reach the controls they need.
Voice Control takes accessibility even further, allowing users to control their device entirely through spoken commands. Users can say things like "Tap Subscribe" or "Swipe down." For this to work, all controls need clear, unique labels. If your app has three "Submit" buttons on screen, Voice Control users will struggle to select the right one.
The key insight here? Simplicity benefits everyone. When developers design for Switch Control and Voice Control users, they often create cleaner, more intuitive interfaces. Large tap targets, clear labels, and logical navigation help all users, not just those with motor impairments.
Color Contrast and Motion
Visual accessibility extends beyond text size. Color contrast ratios determine whether text is readable against its background, and iOS developers must meet specific thresholds. The WCAG guidelines specify minimum contrast ratios: 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. This isn't just about aesthetics—it's about ensuring users with low vision or color blindness can actually read your content.
Developers need to be especially careful with trendy design choices like light gray text on white backgrounds. What might look sleek to a designer could be completely illegible to many users. The same goes for color as the only indicator of information. If your app uses red to indicate errors and green for success, users with color blindness might miss critical information.
Motion is another crucial consideration. While animations can enhance user experience, they can also trigger vestibular disorders, causing dizziness, nausea, or headaches in some users. iOS provides a "Reduce Motion" setting that users can enable, and developers must respect this preference. This means providing alternative ways to convey information without relying on motion, and ensuring the app remains fully functional with animations disabled.
Smart developers also consider how their app performs in different lighting conditions. High contrast modes can help users in bright sunlight or those with certain vision conditions. By designing with these needs in mind from the start, developers create apps that work well in more situations for more people.
How to Hire a Developer with Accessibility Expertise
Finding a developer who truly understands accessibility requires more than scanning resumes for the right keywords. You need someone who combines technical skills with empathy and a genuine commitment to inclusive design. Here's how to identify and hire developers who can build truly accessible iOS apps.
The best accessibility-minded developers don't just know the technical requirements—they understand why accessibility matters. They've likely used VoiceOver themselves, tested apps with various accessibility settings enabled, and can speak knowledgeably about real users' needs. This combination of technical expertise and user empathy is what sets great developers apart.
Interview Questions for Accessibility
The right questions can quickly reveal a developer's accessibility knowledge and experience. Start with practical scenarios that mirror real development challenges. Here are some questions that dig deeper than surface-level knowledge:
"Walk me through how you'd make a custom slider control accessible." A strong answer should mention providing accessibility labels, values, and hints. They should discuss how VoiceOver users would increment and decrement values, and how to ensure the current value is announced clearly.
"How do you handle images in an accessible app?" Look for developers who understand the difference between decorative and informative images. They should mention providing meaningful alternative text for important images while marking decorative ones appropriately so screen readers skip them.
"Describe a time when you had to retrofit accessibility into an existing app. What challenges did you face?" This question reveals real-world experience. Good developers will discuss specific technical challenges, testing processes, and how they prioritized fixes. They might mention discovering assumptions in the original design that didn't work for all users.
"How do you test for accessibility during development?" The best developers don't wait until the end to test. They should mention using VoiceOver regularly, testing with different text sizes, checking color contrast ratios, and ideally, getting feedback from users with disabilities.
Portfolio Review with an Accessibility Lens
Don't just take a developer's word for it—test their work yourself. Download their previous apps and put them through their paces with accessibility features enabled. This hands-on approach reveals more than any interview question could.
Start by enabling VoiceOver and navigating through the app. Can you understand what each button does without looking at the screen? Are images described meaningfully? Does the navigation flow make sense? Pay attention to custom controls—these often reveal whether a developer truly understands accessibility or just implements the basics.
Next, increase the text size to the maximum. Does the layout adapt gracefully, or does text get cut off? Do buttons remain tappable? Check how the app handles landscape orientation with large text—this combination often reveals layout issues.
Test color contrast by taking screenshots and running them through contrast checking tools. Look for any instances where color alone conveys information. Try using the app with Reduce Motion enabled to ensure animations aren't essential for understanding what's happening.
If possible, ask the developer to walk you through their accessibility implementation in a code review. How do they structure their accessibility code? Do they use semantic elements appropriately? Their code organization and comments can reveal how much they prioritize accessibility in their development process.
The Value of Empathy and User-Centricity
Technical skills can be taught, but empathy and user-centricity are harder to instill. The best developers for accessible apps are those who genuinely care about creating inclusive experiences. They see accessibility not as a checklist to complete but as an integral part of good design.
Look for developers who ask questions about your users with disabilities. Do they want to know about your user research? Have they suggested ways to involve users with disabilities in testing? These questions indicate a developer who understands that accessibility is about real people, not just technical requirements.
Great accessibility developers often have personal connections to disability. Maybe they have a family member who uses assistive technology, or they've worked closely with disability advocacy groups. These experiences provide invaluable perspective that translates into better app design.
Pay attention to how developers talk about accessibility. Do they frame it as a burden or compliance issue, or do they see it as an opportunity to create better products? The best developers get excited about solving accessibility challenges and can articulate how accessible design improves apps for everyone.
Finally, consider giving candidates a small accessibility-focused project as part of the interview process. Ask them to create a simple component—like a custom tab bar or form—with full accessibility support. Review not just whether it works with VoiceOver, but how they approached the problem, what edge cases they considered, and how they tested their solution.
Conclusion
Building accessible iOS apps isn't optional anymore—it's essential for legal compliance, business success, and basic human decency. When you hire an iOS developer with strong accessibility skills, you're not just checking a box. You're investing in an app that works for everyone, expanding your market reach, and contributing to a more inclusive digital world.
The path forward is clear. Prioritize accessibility from the start of your project, not as an afterthought. Look for developers who combine technical expertise with genuine empathy for users with disabilities. Test early and often with real assistive technologies. And remember that accessible design often leads to better design for everyone.
Your next iOS app has the potential to open doors for millions of users who are too often shut out of digital experiences. By hiring the right developer and committing to accessibility, you're not just building an app—you're building a bridge to a more inclusive future. The tools are there, the knowledge exists, and the benefits are undeniable. The only question is: are you ready to build something that truly works for everyone?
References
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Posted Jul 6, 2025
Excluding users with disabilities is bad for business and can lead to legal trouble. Learn why iOS accessibility is crucial and how to hire a developer who can build an inclusive app for everyone.
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