Motor
Tools and techniques to help you test for motor impairments
Motor impairments affect how people perceive and interact with digital content.
Common conditions include:
- arthritis
- cerebral palsy
- multiple sclerosis
- Parkinson's disease
- broken arm
Challenges for people with motor impairments
Motor impairments can make it difficult to:
- make precise movements
- use a mouse, trackpad or touchscreen
- complete tasks quickly
Testing tools to identify barriers
Run automated tests
Start by using automated tools to identify accessibility issues, including visual impairments. Automated tools work best when used collectively, so you should use all 3 together.
You could install and use:
Run manual tests
After automated tests, you should do manual tests. They can identify more accessibility problems and let you see how your product or website works for people with different motor impairments.
You could use:
- Target size
- a device to test in landscape mode
- keyboard only
Run screen reader tests
You should also test with a screen reader, to understand how people who use one might navigate your product or website.
Test with personas
You could use HMRC's accessibility personas. They're a good starting point to understand user needs of people with disabilities.
Chris
User with rheumatoid arthritis
Christopher mainly uses a keyboard to navigate content. He needs:
- keyboard navigation
- some screen reader use
- clearly labelled HTML elements
View Chris's profile and task - User with rheumatoid arthritis
Ron
Older user with multiple conditions
Ron uses offline support for services when available. He needs:
- accessible offline support
- high contrast and clear text
- clear page structure