A belief at the core of Vevox is to value every voice. It's where our name comes from and forms part of our mission statement to offer an equal voice to everyone in the workplace and classroom.
For a more detailed understanding about accessibility and Vevox you can read our accessibility statement and look at our VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template).
Using a screen reader
We test our Vevox participant app using the following screen readers.
- NVDA on Windows 10
- Screen Reader for Chrome (formerly ChromeVox)
Using a keyboard
All of the main functionality of the Vevox participant app (https://vevox.app) can be controlled with a keyboard when using it on a desktop/laptop computer. This includes general navigation around the app, asking questions and answering polls.
- Tab - Navigate to the next interactive element
- Shift+Tab - Navigate to the previous interactive element
- Space or Enter - Activate the currently selected link or button
- Arrow keys and numbers - Used for voting in various polls types
General tips as a presenter
The biggest thing to be mindful of when using Vevox is your environment or scenario. Remember that you as a presenter are the one in control and you can dictate the pace of the session.
Live polling
When opening and closing polls make sure you give everyone enough time to understand the question and to provide a response. If you are asking a long question make sure people have a chance to read all of the text. Similarly, if you are asking a question requiring a text-based response, make sure you allow plenty of time for people to answer.
The same goes when displaying results. Don't assume people will read a result or can easily see and understand it. Read through the content on screen and make a comment on the result, this will help reinforce the information being displayed and help people to stay engaged in the conversation.
Using images in questions
Vevox supports alt text for images you upload yourself into the platform. We strongly recommend that if you are providing your own imagery for then you add alt text in order to explain the image to a person who might have partial or low vision. Alt text is read aloud to users by screen reader software and it also displays on the page if the image fails to load.
When uploading your own images, describe the image in words so that the visually impaired readers can clearly understand what the picture is about.
When using imageray from our stock library (licensed from Unsplash) any existing alt text is also included, however not all images contained within the library have alt text defined. The alt text will show as 'null' if there is no description. Of course, you can still change the 'null' description and add your own interpretation of the image. The character limit for alt text is 150 characters.
All default images that are visible in the Vevox dashboard and participant app also have pre-populated alt text descriptions.
Be aware when using the 'Pin on Image' question type, this question type by it's nature heavily relies on being able to see and understand an image and respond by selecting in a specific area of the image. It therefore may not be suitable for all people in your audience.
Self-paced surveys
Giving people their own time to look at and answer polls is an alternative if you are concerned about the pace of a session. Using a survey is a great way to make sure people can understand questions fully and provide their answers without the pressure of time in a meeting or lecture.
Use of colour
We allow the Vevox participant app to be customisable when it comes to colours being used. This means it is possible for you to change the theme to colour combinations that don't always work well together. If you do want to change the colours in the participant app always try to make sure you use strong colours that will contrast well with white or black text.
If in doubt, stick with the default Vevox theme. This fully complies with the colour contrast requirements as specified by the WCAG.
If you have any comments or feedback about accessibility within Vevox we'd love to hear from you, contact us at hello@vevox.com.