Accessibility in Zoho CRM: Not just a feature—a way to empower

Accessibility in Zoho CRM: Not just a feature—a way to empower

For instructions on setting up these controls, please check this help document: Configuring accessibility controls.
Hello everyone,

Today (December 3, 2024), on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we begin our journey towards a CRM that empowers everyone. This first step makes it possible for more users of all abilities to do their best work in Zoho CRM.

But this is only the start.

We need your support and feedback as we work towards a future of inclusive tools, businesses, and communities where no one's excluded. We invite you to watch the video below for a quick overview of our first update:


What is accessibility, and why does it matter in Zoho CRM?

CRM and other business software tools are deeply woven into our work lives, and the experience of using them often drifts out of focus as we navigate through the interfaces, analyze data, and take action. But for users with disabilities, the experience is quite different.

Just as people who use wheelchairs face unique challenges in navigating through physical spaces, users with disabilities often experience business software tools as spaces filled with obstacles. User interfaces are often crowded with visual elements that make navigation difficult. Every click and every form demands attention and effort, and information is often presented in ways that not everyone can easily perceive. And the list of challenges goes on.

When accessibility is not built into business software like Zoho CRM, it unintentionally amplifies barriers instead of empowering users to work without limits.

Accessibility is the removal of these barriers. It helps everyone use products, services, devices, or environments and benefit from them. Even seemingly small changes can make a big difference for many users. For example:
  • Reading tiny text is challenging, especially for those with visual impairments and older individuals. Adjusting font sizes can greatly enhance readability for all.
  • Color is commonly used to indicate important information. For instance, green for enabled switches or red for mandatory fields. Having this information available by other means (text, symbols, and so on) helps users with color vision impairments.
  • Users who can't use a mouse often use keyboards instead. Providing full keyboard access to the CRM and the option to skip sections expands navigation for all users.

Accessibility in Zoho CRM

For the millions of users who rely on Zoho CRM daily—especially those with disabilities—accessibility controls give them the tools they deserve to achieve what they're capable of.

Just as businesses can customize our CRM to meet their specific requirements, individual users can leverage 18 accessibility controls to accommodate their unique needs. They no longer have to deal with a "standard" CRM that only works for users without disabilities. Instead, they can perform all their tasks with ease in a CRM that can be configured to match their unique needs.

Accessibility controls

Our accessibility controls are designed to support users with vision impairments, motor disabilities, and those who could benefit from enhanced interaction options. You can access these via Setup > General > Personal Settings > Accessibility. You can access certain controls using the Accessibility shortcut, located in the toolbar at the bottom. Let's look at each set of controls.

Vision

  • Screen reader support: Users who are blind or have visual impairments rely on screen readers to complete tasks. Zoho CRM now supports popular screen readers by default, allowing for better understanding and navigation. Users can also enhance their experience by enabling standard navigation order and ARIA landmarks.
    A user goes through a list of contacts in the CRM using a screen reader.
  • Zoom support: Users with vision impairment often need to zoom into parts of the interface to perceive details. Zoho CRM now supports browsers' zoom features by default. Users can zoom up to 150% without disrupting the interface's cohesion.
    A user zooms into a record detail page. The CRM's UI does not lose its structure at any point.
  • Adjustable font size and spacing: Text is crucial in CRM interfaces and affects user experience. Preferences for text size vary, with those with low vision preferring larger text and those with higher visual acuity preferring smaller text. Users can easily adjust font size for better readability, eliminating the need to zoom in.
    A user uses the live preview option to increase the font size.

    Similarly, users can adjust spacing to make text easier to read.
    A user uses the live preview option to increase spacing. The text is much more legible now.
  • Magnify text on hover: At times, we may have no trouble with most text elements but face challenges with certain ones. In such cases, users can use this option to zoom-on-demand. Simply press the alt (Windows) or option (Mac) key to enlarge difficult-to-read text elements.
    A user hovers over certain elements to get an enlarged view. This is done in a deal module kanban view.
  • Motion control: Although animations can enhance an interface's appeal, they can also be distracting and uncomfortable for users, especially after extended use. In fact, excessive animations may even induce dizziness and nausea in individuals with vestibular impairments. Accordingly, users now have the option to reduce animations for a distraction-free experience that's easy on the eyes.
    A popup smoothly opens from the bottom toolbar. With the motion control enabled, it appears immediately without the smooth motion.
  • Switch labels: Toggle switches generally use color to indicate their state, such as green to indicate a toggle is enabled. This can be a barrier for users with color vision impairments. With this option enabled, users can quickly determine the state of a switch in Zoho CRM, as shown below:

  • Strikethrough disabled buttons: Disabled buttons are grayed out like toggle switches, but this can be difficult to distinguish for users with color vision impairment. Enabling a strikethrough cue makes it easier for users to identify these buttons, as shown in the example below:
    Disabled buttons have multiple lines running through them from the top-right to the bottom left.
  • Form display mode: Filling out forms can be difficult for users with disabilities, as it can require zooming in, scrolling, and tabbing through fields. To make it easier, users can enable the form display mode, which users can use to shrink a form down to its mandatory fields, fill them out, and then move on to the next task.

  • Mandatory field appearance: To save records, users often have to deal with mandatory fields, which are typically marked with red accent lines. However, this can be problematic for those with color vision challenges. Thankfully, users can now personalize the presentation of mandatory fields, such as by denoting them with an asterisk or a "Required" label.

  • Custom error message display: Forms can pose a challenge for users with color vision impairment, particularly when it comes to error messages. These messages are typically displayed in red, but this may not be visible for those with color blindness. To address this, users can now select a more accessible color and even include an error icon for easier identification.
    Error messages for two fields are displayed with an icon and an accessible color.
  • Flashing screens for notifications: It's easy to miss notifications in Zoho CRM in certain cases. For example, a user with low vision may be working with a zoomed-in view, which may keep the notification signal out of sight. To address this, users can enable this option, which causes the screen to flash twice when they receive a notification.
    The screen flashes in a yellow shade when the user previews the flash screen option.
  • ARIA landmarks: Users without low vision can perceive an interface's structure at a glance and navigate directly to the section they want. This isn't always the case for users accessing Zoho CRM with assistive technology like screen readers. To help them perceive and navigate the interface easily, they can enable ARIA landmarks, which help them understand the page quickly and skip to the sections they need to get their work done.
    User skips to a section in the home page usig ARIA landmarks. The different sections on the home page are clearly marked in boxes with accessible colors and labels.

Motor

  • Keyboard shortcuts: Many users with and without disabilities prefer using their keyboards to navigate around the CRM and take actions. They can create and use keyboard shortcuts for frequently performed actions. This option has already been released and will now be moved under the Accessibility tab.

  • Zia voice assistant: Some users may not be able to use a mouse or a keyboard. An example would be users with severe motor impairments. We now offer our built-in Zia Voice Assistant to assist such users in navigating Zoho CRM and completing their tasks. After you've enabled this option, press Control + Z + V or click the microphone icon in the bottom bar and start telling Zia what to do. Please note that only English language voice commands are supported for now; it isn't yet available in CN, SA, or JP DCs.
    A user speaks to Zia Voice Assistant to open a lead record and click the Edit button within it.

Interaction

  • Reading focus: The CRM interface is often packed with information so as to present an all-in-one view, but this can be overwhelming for users who are easily distracted. Reading focus enables them to block out distractions and focus solely on the area around their cursor.
    A user has enabled reading focus. Most the of screen is masked except a small rectangular box around the cursor. This box moves as the user moves the cursor.
  • Underline links: Links are important for navigating Zoho CRM, but it's crucial to distinguish them from regular text. This is usually done through color, which can be problematic for users with color vision impairment. In such cases, they can have links underlined for easy identification.
    In a list of tasks, the Task name and the contact name are underlined to show that they are links to records. Other elements like status and priority are not underlined to indicate that they are not links.
  • Standard navigation order: For users navigating the CRM with a screen reader and a keyboard, this option ensures that navigation starts from the first DOM element and proceeds in a consistent pattern (from top to bottom, left to right, and without skipping any elements).

Achieving WCAG 2.2 Level AA compliance: A major step towards inclusive accessibility
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are a globally recognized framework of recommendations designed to enhance web accessibility. With our accessibility controls in place, we're happy to announce that we're compliant with WCAG 2.2. Level AA.
Note: For the following features, full compatibility is currently limited to the home page, custom view, and standard record view for create, edit, clone, and details pages:
  • Screen reader
  • Zoom
  • Custom error message display
  • ARIA Landmark
  • Standard navigation order
For the following features, full compatibility is currently limited to the standard record view of create, edit, clone, and details pages:
  • Form display mode
  • Mandatory field display
We encourage you to do the following:
  • Explore: Familiarize yourself with the new accessibility controls and let us know what works and what doesn't.
  • Share: Inform your teams and peers about these enhancements.
  • Support: Assist others in customizing their settings for the best experience.
Availability
Release plan: Soon, we'll be rolling out accessibility controls in a phased manner for all customers.

[13 Jan 2025] Accessibility controls are now available to all users in all DCs.

Editions: All
DCs: All
To learn more about these controls, please refer this help document: Configuring Accessibility Controls.
Accessibility is a moving target, and we need your help to ensure that we're constantly moving towards it. Please spread the word and share your feedback.

    • Recent Topics

    • I NEED TO NUMBER TO TEXT NO HERE

      =NUMBERTEXT NEEED

    • Auto-fill New Row with Previous Row Values

      rowsize = input.Order_Items.count(); for each row1 in input.Order_Items { rowsize = rowsize - 1; if(rowsize == 1) { row.Door_Model = row1.Door_Model; row.Door_Color = row1.Door_Color; row.Materials = row1.Materials;

    • When I click on PDF/PRINT it makes the invoice half size

      When I click PDF / Print for my invoice in Zoho Books, the generated PDF appears at half size — everything is scaled down, including the logo, text, and layout. The content does not fill the page as it should. Could someone advise what causes Zoho Books

    • Python - code studio

      Hi, I see the code studio is "coming soon". We have some files that will require some more complex transformation, is this feature far off? It appears to have been released in Zoho Analytics already

    • API question - adding a thread to an existing ticket

      Hi Is there an API function for the customer to add to an existing ticket thread? example, customer puts in new support ticket. support replies and ask for more details. customer replies with more details -what api function is used for this (will add record append to same ticket number?) Thanks

    • Why is Zoho Meeting quality so poor?

      I've just moved from Office 365 to Zoho Workplace and have been generally really positive about the new platform -- nicely integrated, nice GUI, good and easy-to-understand control and customisation, and at a reasonable price. However, what is going on

    • Items Below Reorder Point Report?

      Is there a way to run a report of Items that are below the Reorder Point? I don't see this as a specific report, nor can I figure out how to customize any of the other stock reports to give me this information. Please tell me I'm missing something s

    • Calendar week view: Today + 6

      Is there anyway to have the calendar change dynamically based on the date? Due to the amount of events, we only display a week at a time, but towards the end of the week, we can no longer see ahead to next week (without changing it manually every time).

    • How to restrict user/portal user change canvas view

      Hi , I would like to restrict user / portal user change their canvas view because I hide some sensitive field for them. I dont want my user switch the canvas view that do not belong to them But seems Zoho do not provide this setting?

    • Introducing parent-child ticketing in Zoho Desk [Early access]

      Hello Zoho Desk users! We have introduced the parent-child ticketing system to help customer service teams ensure efficient resolution of issues involving multiple, related tickets. You can now combine repetitive and interconnected tickets into parent-child

    • How to add to Subforms via Zapier with Zoho Writer?

      I have the following layout for a Zoho Writer Document. As you can see there is a repeating subform taking in "Items". I am trying to make a Zapier integration with it, and I can see there is 1 field saying: "Items", but it does not specify how I'm supposed

    • Contrôles administratifs granulaires : un atout pour la sécurité des e-mails

      La moindre erreur dans votre système de messagerie peut coûter très cher à votre entreprise, tant en argent qu’en conformité et en image de marque. Pour beaucoup d’organisations, ce risque est bien réel. Les e-mails véhiculent quotidiennement des informations

    • Marketer's Space: Why mobile optimization deserves a place in your email strategy

      Hello Marketers, Welcome back to Marketer's Space! Today, we'll talk about the importance of creating mobile-friendly email designs. While mobile phones were once used only to make phone calls, today they're used for almost everything, including texting,

    • Collections Management: #6 Realign Customers who gets back In-Term

      Arun stared at the subscription list on his dashboard. Another account had just been moved to Cancelled status after completing the whole dunning process. Nothing unusual, just that payment failures happen, retries fail, and cancellation is the expected

    • Zoho Mail IP Blacklist

      I need problems with send mails: Error: junk mail rejected - sender4-op-o10.zoho.com 136.143.188.10, is in RBL. Spamcop. Please remove FQDN for blacklist. Regards.

    • I can receive but not send emails

      Hello, I've been not able to send emails for almost a year now. I been using alternate email to do this. I want to know how to fix this so I can use my zoho account normally again.

    • The challenge of 24/7 connectivity: Being present and meeting customer expectations

      Before television entered our homes, radio was our window to the world. We had to tune carefully to catch voices from distant places. When television arrived, the world began to grow smaller. We can watch rocket launches, see the goal that wins our favorite

    • How to download all attachments from inbox, send, other folders in one go

      Hi All, Appreciate if anyone could help me with steps for below requirement. How to download all attachments from inbox, send, other folders in one go. Even mapping to new folder will help me. Thanks in advance.

    • Cannot connect mail accounts to Thunderbird

      Hi Support - I'm attempting to add my mail accounts to Thunderbird but I'm getting an unable to login to server error. I tried to use the password associated with my account I received the unable to login error. So I went into Zoho Accounts and generate

    • Alias Email Id already exists

      Hi, I just verified my domain sesque (dot) com and now I am trying to create the admin account using admin (at) sesque (dot) com, but I am getting an error saying "Alias Email Id already exists". I used to have another Zoho account with this email address,

    • Unable to connect to smtp server, connection timed out

      Hi Team, I am facing below issue, while sending out emails from thunderbird client. It used to work, facing this issue from morning. Error: Sending of the message failed. The message could not be sent because the connection to Outgoing server (SMTP) smtp.zoho.com

    • javax.mail.authenticationfailedexception 535 authentication failed

      Hi, I am facing 535 authentication failed error when trying to send email from zoho desktop as well as in webmail. Can you suggest to fix this issue,. Regards, Rekha

    • Zoho Creator customer portal users

      Hi, I'm in a Zoho One subscription with our company. I'm running a project now that involves creating a Zoho Creater application and using the Zoho Creator Customer Portal.  At most we need 25 customer portal users. In our Zoho One plan we only get 3

    • DKIM Verification Failed (Namecheap)

      Hi! I have already set up the TXT records in Namecheap but I keep getting the "Verification Failed" pop up. Was wondering if I'm the only one who has this problem and can anyone help me with this? Thanks!

    • Emails stuck in Queue

      Hi there, Since yesterday I have a few out going emails stuck in a queue. It say it will auto retry sending however nothing is happening. It seems to be affecting roughly 50% of my outgoing emails. Please help Thanks

    • Soft Bounce from transational emails from BREVO (Sendinblue)

      I manage the website of a client who uses your EMAIL service for the domain floranativadobrasil.com. And I use the BREVO email service, previously called SendinBlue, to send transactional emails about events specific to the website. All emails sent to

    • Ability to Edit YouTube Video Title, Description & Thumbnail After Publishing

      Hi Zoho Social Team, How are you? We would like to request an enhancement to Zoho Social that enables users to edit YouTube video details after the video has already been published. Your team confirmed that while Zoho Social currently allows editing the

    • Getting an error Address not found Your message wasn't delivered

      Hey, I'm trying to configure zoho mail for my website https://businessentity.org/ The email is meredith.karter@businessentity.org I'm able to successfully send the mails but when someone sends an email to above mail, this error shoots up: Address not

    • Support Uploading YouTube Videos Longer Than 60 Minutes

      Hi Zoho Social Team, How are you? We would like to request support for uploading YouTube videos longer than 60 minutes directly through Zoho Social. Your support team informed us that Zoho Social currently cannot upload videos over 60 minutes due to “API

    • Need Faster Help? Try Live Chat Support

      Hello there, We understand that sometimes, whether you’re facing an issue, exploring a feature, or need quick clarification, sending an email and waiting for a response just doesn’t cut it. You need answers, and you need them now. That’s exactly why we

    • Can't deactivate Spell Check

      Hi Community, right now I'm using the Zoho Mail Desktop-Software. So far, so good.. many possibilities. Overall very nice. What is extremely annoying right now, is that we are not able to deactivate the Spell Check feature. And we are barely able to focus

    • Zoho Toolkit Email Signature Generator

      I'm having real issues with the email signature generator with no matter where I host the photo, Zoho doesn't seem to show the photo on the link provided?

    • Company Policy Upload - Request All EE to review and sign

      How can I upload policies into Zoho People and have the employees review them and sign off saying they agree, etc.? Also, if I make a revision to a policy, I would like that changed or updated policy to be distributed or have the employees notified that

    • Zoho Sign Global Settings vs. Template and Document

      Hello, We are running into an issue on a current use case. We already use Zoho Sign. Now that KBA is available, we want to begin using it in our tax delivery process, by allowing clients to sign electronically, but also download a copy of their return

    • Zoho Mail Desktop Crashes on Linux - Ubuntu 24 LTS

      Hi, I have been trying to run the desktop app on Ubuntu for the past few day with no luck. I have tried both the .deb package and the appImage. When I attempt to open the app. It just crashes immediately. The crash error dialog appeared once and I cant

    • Can't login to Zoho mail

      I'm logged into Zoho but when I try to go in zoho mail I get: Invalid request! The input passed is invalid or the URL is invoked without valid parameters. Please check your input and try again. I just set up my mx records and stuff with namecheap a few

    • Zoho IP blocked by SpamCop

      Hi, Many of my emails are blocked and I receive this:  INVALID_ADDRESS, ERROR_CODE :550, ERROR_CODE :spamcop.mimecast.org Blocked - see https://www.spamcop.net/bl.shtml?136.143.188.51. - https://community.mimecast.com/docs/DOC-1369#550 [DGwIYPPSOfWI

    • Differences between Zoho Books and Zoho Billing

      Without a long drawn out process to compare these. If you were looking at these Books and Billing, what made you opt for one and not the other. Thanks

    • Custom validation in CRM schema

      Validation rules in CRM layouts work nicely, good docs by @Kiran Karthik P https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/crm/customize-crm-account/validation-rules/articles/create-validation-rules I'd prefer validating data input 'closer to the schema'

    • Server error when trying to Data > Sort > Custom Sort

      Been using Data > Sort > Custom Sort for a while, now it has suddenly stopped working. When selecting the same data range and trying to execute, I get "Sorry! There was a problem saving your last edit. Please try again."

    • Next Page