Matt says only gather necessary data on web forms. Break down the form into multiple steps. Let user come back and add information when they are able to. This will lead to a higher completion rate.
Transcript
Nic
Hi, I’m Nic Steenhout. And you’re listening to the accessibility rules soundbite, a series of short podcasts where disabled people explain their impairments, and what barriers they encounter on the web. Today I’m talking with Matt Trask. Hey, Matt, how are you?
Matt
I’m good. How are you doing?
Nic
I’m doing okay. We’re a little bit smoked out with wildfires right now. So that’s, that’s not fun. But other than that, doing good.
Matt
Aah I saw that on Twitter. That’s not fun, especially like for the photography aspect of what you want to do.
Nic
Yeah, there’s no photography happening. There’s no birds out there No, nothing. Let’s let’s get started with my first opening question to you, what’s your disability or your impairment?
Matt
Mostly around depression and anxiety is really I think, what I would be classified under, just and it’s it’s one of those things where I’ve been diagnosed with both of them. I manage them, both through medications and also therapies and things like that. It’s, it’s one of those things that I’ve just accepted that I will never be fully rid of, I just have to manage it the best that I can with the tools available to me.
Nic
Hmm. So depression is not typically something you hear about in relation to web accessibility. What would be your greatest barrier, or maybe pet peeve that ties to web accessibility and depression.
Matt
It’s… I… So depression presents in everybody very differently. In fact, I asked my wife about this because she also has depression. And she is also very much on the internet, probably more than I am at this point. Because once it’s like four or five o’clock, I shut my computer and just try and hide. I t, at least for me, when when depression really strikes it, two things happen. Whenever I’m browsing the web one is just a very hard time synthesizing other people’s achievements, and good news and anything like that. And it it kind of drives me away from the internet, because I’m just I, the lens of depression makes me not want to be around that. And that’s not something that can be fixed. That’s just a thing that happens with me. But it’s also if I’m on a webpage, and I have to sign up for something. Car insurance is probably a really good example, where they ask a lot of questions and a lot of information, and I have to have it all very much ready to answer these questions. If I’m in a very depressive state, it, it requires a massive amount of effort for me to push through the form or to answer the questions, anything like that. See, it’s with me it is it is the biggest challenge I face is the drive to accomplish anything that requires a ton of information and more time than I would deem willing to spend on something if that makes sense.
Nic
Yeah, that does make sense. What’s the solution? Is making forms shorter or no breaking it down in steps or what would be a solution from your perspective,
Matt
I think a multi step form that is saveable to a point might be one way to do it. Whether that is I have to log back in after the fact and finish it when I have time or the mental capacity to do that. Or if they give me a gentle nudge reminder say hey, you know your form is still here. We’d like you to come finish it. I think those are those are two possible things I think another thing too and while the car insurance thing was a great example upfront, you can’t finish the form until you have all the information for the car insurance company to say we will insure you for X amount of money or whatever it is. But breaking you know figuring out looking at the forms that you have on on your websites on your apps, like is all this information absolutely necessary or can I come back and fill it out later? Like most websites you need an email and a password to get started. You know if you want my name if you want my birthday if you want to know where I live if you want to know you know reference to photography, if it’s a camera website, what cameras am I am I playing on these days? What lenses do I have? Make all that optional, make it where I can fill it in on my time. So if on Monday if my depression strikes really hard, I can just get through with just the bare minimum amount of effort required and then Wednesday, when I’m feeling better, I can come back and say, you know, okay, cool, I have this and this, here’s my birthday, here’s all this, I think, I think that’s kind of is paring down your forms to the absolute bare minimum possible, and allowing your users to come back to filling it out when they have time when they have the energy to do so.
Nic
Yeah, it makes sense. If you had one message to give designers or developers around web accessibility, what would that be?
Matt
I mean, in terms of like depression and stuff, I mean, it at least like when my depression presents, it’s very blue. It’s like I see the world in a very blue sadness lens, I would say pull back on the blues, just because that just only makes things worse Am I it to when I’m going through a depressive state. But really, it’s just make… Make it… Make a form… And forms are really the only thing users going to interact with on your on a site. So that’s why I come back to them, make the form as clear as possible, and make it as as simple as possible to start and finish it within one sitting. Any information that does not require app like is absolutely required, push it off, and let your users come back to it. And I think if you’ll see a lot more people who have severe chronic depression that maybe don’t have the access that I do to manage these things, they will be able to finish those forms that users or websites are sitting here like I wish these are finished that way we could close that out or something like that, just make it just simplify the process down to the bare minimum and let people come back. And I think overall, you’ll see better adoption throughout your site with regards to users with depression.
Nic
Fantastic. I love that. I, for me, it makes sense because I mean, it is one of the web content accessibility guideline concepts, you know, you can save the data and people can return to it to complete stuff. That’s mostly around financial and other kinds of personal data. But I think in terms of any kind of forms, as you say, if if you don’t need it right now to do things, let the user complete it later. Matt, thank you. That was super good. And we’ll see you around on the internet.
Matt
Absolutely. Thank you so much. It’s my pleasure.