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

    • [Webinar] Solving business challenges- Handling the challenge of transitioning to Zoho Writer from legacy tools

      Moving to Zoho Writer is a great way to consolidate your business tools and become more agile. With multiple accessibility modes, no-code automation, and extensive integration with business apps and content platforms, Zoho Writer helps solve your organization's

    • How can I effectively manage a website with your help?

      I’m wondering if it’s possible to develop a custom website with specific features using Zoho as an alternative platform. My goal is to create a website similar to https://tmsim.ph, with the same kind of functionality and user experience. I would truly

    • Introducing the Yes/No field: Binary decisions made beautiful

      Greetings, form architects! What would you do when you need a simple yes/no answer on your form? Normally, you add a Radio field. Type Yes. Type No. Until now. The new Yes/No field is purpose-built for binary decisions. It is preconfigured, visually consistent,

    • Move email between inboxes?

      Is it possible to move emails from one team inbox to another? We would like to be able to have a single "catch-all" inbox for incoming requests, and then move the email to the appropriate department inbox. I was hoping we would be able to accomplish this

    • The power of workflows in Zoho Marketing Automation - Video Webinar

      In this Zoho Marketing Automation video webinar, our experts walk you through: Why you may want to create marketing workflows How to create marketing workflows Use Zoho CRM data and apply workflows to automate your marketing strategy How workflows can

    • Offer already made- but I withdrew it

      I made an offer letter, but made a mistake on it. I withdrew the offer but now I can't recreate the correct offer. Zoho keeps saying that "A same offer has already been made". I look in the "offers" and there are NO offers (this is the first time I've

    • Zoho CRM's sales trend and sales follow-up trend dashboards are now customizable

      Dear Customers, We're here with good news! Sales trend and sales follow-up trend are two system-defined dashboards that help you understand trends and anomalies in your sales outreach and conversion efforts. They use Zia's intelligence to identify patterns

    • Task list flag Internal/External for all phases

      Phases are commonly used in projects to note milestones in the progression of a project, while task lists can be used to group different types of tasks together. It makes sense to be able to define a task list as either internal or external however the

    • Introducing Rule-Based AI Coding Assistants for Zoho Finance Widgets

      Hello customers, We’ve introduced rule-based AI coding assistants to speed up Zoho Finance widget development. You can try them out in Cursor AI and GitHub Copilot. This helps you build widgets quickly using simple prompts, while ensuring the generated

    • Marketing Tip #21: Create an About Us page

      People don’t just buy products, they buy from brands they trust. An About Us page helps customers understand who you are, what you stand for, and why your business exists. It adds a human touch to your store and reassures shoppers that there’s a real

    • Zobot to handle single choice menu when dynamic list content is more than 10 items

      Whatsapp supports maximum of only 10 items for its single choice menu. When we need to show a dynamic list with content more than 10, this could be challenging. We essentially need to add a next and previous buton here in order to make it functional.

    • Add the ability to Hide Pages in Page Rules

      Hi, We have Field Rules to show and hide fields and we have page Rules, but we can't hide a page in Page Rules so it isn't completed before the previous page (And then have the Deny Rules to prevent submitting without both pages completed), we can only

    • Column letter from number

      Hello, I am trying to select a cell and i have the column number. How do i do this or is there a way of getting the letter from the number? Thank you

    • 【Zoho CRM】商談タブへのデータインポート

      Zoho使用前にエクセルで管理していた商談情報を、Zoho一括管理のため、商談タブにインポートしたいのですが、お客さまの氏名だけが紐づけられませんでした。 「Zoho CRMにインポートする項目を関連付ける」のところが画像のようになっています。 （弊社では、「姓」を「★個人データ名」という項目名に変更し、フルネームを入れて使用しています。） どのようにしたら氏名をインポートできるかご存じの方がいらっしゃいましたら、ご教示いただきたく、よろしくお願いいたします。 （投稿先が間違っていましたらご指

    • Composite Product (kit) - Dynamic Pricing

      I am setting up Composite Products for item kits that I sell. I also sell the items from the kit individually. Problem is when pricing changes on an individual part, the Composite Product price does not change meaning when the cost of item # 2 in the

    • View Answer Bot conversations?

      We are trialing Zia and are experimenting with Answer Bot on our knowledge base. So far so good! Management asks me if it is possible to view Answer Bot conversations, the purpose being to look over its shoulder and confirm that it is working as des

    • Train Zia answer bot on only part of Knowledge Base?

      We are trialing Zia answer bot and hope to use it on the knowledge base to help our users find the information they are looking for. I have found how to train Zia on the entirety of our knowledge base. But is there a way to train it on only certain categories

    • Smarter holiday planning with yearly-specific Holiday Lists

      Hello everyone! Managing holidays and business hours is now easier and more efficient. Holiday Lists now support holidays that fall on different dates every year, while business hours now supports more than one holiday list. This helps businesses manage

    • Temporary Outage in Zoho Cliq Affecting US Users – July 23, 2025

      We experienced a service disruption in Zoho Cliq that impacted core functionality for users in the US region. The issue occurred between Jul 23, 2025, 06:54:00 PM IST and 07:13:13 PM IST, lasting approximately 19 minutes. To restore service stability,

    • ERROR CODE :550 - 550 5.1.1 Invalid email recipients

      This message was created automatically by mail delivery software. A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its recipients. This is a permanent error. mustafa.ashraf@techlink-eg.net, ERROR CODE :550 - 550 5.1.1 Invalid email recipients

    • Function #20: Custom calculation in item table of invoices

      When you create an invoice in Zoho Books, the 'Amount' of a line item is typically calculated as the product of the "Quantity" and the "Rate" of the item. For instance, if an item has a sales rate of $50 and a quantity of 5 is sold, then the amount would

    • Impossible to import Journal from Freshbooks

      I have been trying to import journals from Freshbooks since August 30th. Every time I try to import, I get an error message. I have already made sure every row has a date. First it was saying the account and notes had unexpected input and that every debit/credit

    • How to Create a Fixed Sliding Time Window (D-45 to D-15) in Zoho Analytics ?

      Hello, I would like to create a report in Zoho Analytics based on a sliding time window between D-45 and D-15, with a fixed snapshot of that specific period. The data displayed should strictly reflect activity recorded between D-45 and D-15 only, without

    • Wie veröffentliche ich ein PDF Datei?

      Hallo! Wie veröffentliche ich PDF Datein ich habe ein PDF Datei und den sieht ihr im Upload ich möchte ihn veröffentlichen wie? Mit Freundlichen Grüßen, Herr Bahaa Addin Chkirid

    • 🚀 WorkDrive 6.0 (Phase 1): Empowering Teams with Content Intelligence, Automation, Accessibility, and Control

      Hello, everyone! WorkDrive continues to evolve from a robust file management solution into an intelligent, secure, and connected content collaboration platform for modern businesses. Our goal remains unchanged: to simplify teamwork, strengthen data security,

    • Zoho Campaigns: An Outstanding Email Marketing Tool

      Introducing Zoho Campaigns! A product designed by Zoho, the Zoho Campaigns is made to create, deliver, and manage integrated email campaigns that can help in boosting the sales of a company and its customer base. Zoho Campaigns is actually an email marketing

    • Zoho Creator Developer Console | Improved Distribution and Lifecycle Management for apps

      Hello everyone, We're excited to introduce new enhancements now in the Zoho Creator Developer Console. These updates strengthen private app distribution through licensing controls and extend environment support across all installed apps, helping teams

    • Anchor Links in Dashboards

      Hello,  Our dashboards frequently have multiple sections that would be more easily skipped between using anchor links. Please consider adding an anchor link feature to the text widget? This could be done by adding an anchor link option to the text widget next to the "remove" option (see screenshot). The option would assign an ID to the <div> containing the text widget in the live dashboard. Then, the chosen ID could be linked using a traditional <a href="#link_id"> in the html section of the text

    • Zoho Books emails suddenly going to Spam since 11 Nov 2025 (Gmail + now Outlook) — anyone else?

      Hi everyone, We migrated to Zoho Books in July 2025 and everything worked fine until 11 Nov 2025. Since then, Zoho Books system emails are landing in customers’ Spam (first Gmail, and now we’re seeing Outlook/Office 365 also starting to spam them). Impacted

    • Sync images with Shopify/Cart

      Hello, sync images with shopify or other cart, it cuts out the double work of having to upload to shopify/cart and zoho. Thanks

    • Is it Possible to Modify Standard Report Urls

      Is there a way to permanently modify standard report Urls? Use case: Suppose I have a Products report. Showing list as timeline, calendar, or kanban doesn't make sense. Want to hide that from users by adding #Report:Products?zc_ShowAs=false&zc_Print=false

    • Price List

      II want to restrict the items to display in sales, quote, etc for which custom rates are added in price list. How I can do the same in Zoho books

    • External User onboarding for zoho connect is not really intuitive.

      So the external user is sent an invite, which has a button that directs them to login to zoho to view the invite, but if they don't have a zoho account, they cannot access that invite, which seems kinda silly, as there is not real way on for them to create

    • Having trouble fetching contents of Zoho Connect Feeds using the API, requesting alternative API documentation.

      I'm trying to retrieve feed/post data from Zoho Connect using the API but facing challenges with the current documentation. What I've tried: OAuth authentication is working correctly (getting 200 OK responses) Tested multiple endpoints: /pulse/nativeapi/v2/feeds,

    • How to upload file to Connect using API?

      Hi there. I looked at the API documentation and nowhere did it mention how to use the API method to upload a file even though it is mentioned that it is possible to be done so. Please help.

    • Select the task view on the board in the Zoho Connect iPhone app

      Hello. How do I select the task view on the board in the Zoho Connect iPhone app? The Android app has this functionality.

    • Auto tagging

      Some of the articles I enter into Notebook get there when I enter them in Raindrop.io and IFTTT copies the articles in Notebook. When this happens the notes are tagged but instead of useful one word tags with topic the tag pertains to the specific article

    • Zoho Sheet for Desktop

      Does Zoho plans to develop a Desktop version of Sheet that installs on the computer like was done with Writer?

    • WebDAV support

      I need WebDAV support so that I can upload/download (and modify) documents from my local file system. Is anything planned in his direction?

    • Constant refresh required in lots of Zoho tabs

      "Hey Zoho, if you can sync my notification bell across 15 tabs using a BroadcastChannel, why can't you send a 'Data Refresh' signal the same way? We don't need a browser reload—we just need the data to sync without us clicking F5 like it's 1999." "PS:

    • Next Page