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.
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.
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.
Similarly, users can adjust spacing to make text easier to read.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Great article! Accessibility in a CRM is a huge step forward for inclusion. I’m currently working on an accessible web project, and these initiatives are truly inspiring. Looking forward to seeing how the Zoho community embraces these features!
Hello - since this went live all our users are reporting that the system is acting as if it has a screen reader enabled. So we have fields that get selected, you cannot add test - it is very annoying.
We checked and there is no way to turn this off from preferences.
Thank you, glad to know you liked the above updates.
We would like to understand the issue mentioned in more detail. Is it possible for you to share a recording of this instance and where you cannot add a test? Else, if you can also connect us via call or chat support we can connect via a remote and check and help with this issue.
I think I have the same issue - fields I click into won't accept additional text. I can only edit fields if I use the Edit button. This is annoying, as Ivan says. Moving the Recent Items button to the left to make way for the Accessibility button has also meant I keep hitting the wrong button. Please could it be moved back, as Accessibility is probably something most users don't need to use many times a day, unlike Recent Items?
Thank you for sharing this here. Regarding the issue with the Text we have fixed this. Check and let us know if you are still facing any challenge. With respect to the button we will surely take this as a feedback.
Hi, I thought it is solved as it disappeared, but we still have issues.
1. When we edit a record the fields are rounded in blue as if we have an external reader attached, which is not the case.
2. If you are in edit mode once the field is in blue it blocks next fields from being easily edited
3. Also we have problems in settings (As admin) - when you edit a field, the screen becomes grey, but the field edit window does not show, so we need to refresh
This started with the launch of this feature and is experienced by the entire team.
We went through the settings for accessibility and everything is turned off.
From your CRM you can directly click on your profile, you will get the option to start a chat or click on talk with us and you can directly connect via call with one of our experts and assist you.