Qualtrics Accessibility Guide

Start here

1. Choose accessible question types

   Qualtrics has several question types, but some are inaccessible to keyboard only or screen reader users.

   Browse question types

2. Review design and theme settings

   The Look and feel menu lets you adjust contrast, focus, and motion to help ensure your design choices do not interfere with accessibility.

   See theme settings

3. Run the checker

   The Qualtrics accessibility checker flags common problems. Correcting any flagged issue should always be part of your Qualtrics workflow. 

   Walk through it

4. Try it yourself

   Automated testing often misses barriers. Our manual tests walk you through checks the automated tool cannot perform.

   Quick manual tests

Step 1

Choose accessible question types

Most standard, familiar question types are broadly accessible. Avoiding questions that rely on drag-and-drop, heatmaps, or other click-on-a-picture types will improve the accessibility of the overall form.

Use the matrix below to identify which question types to avoid and which ones need additional context to meet our accessibility requirements. Search by name or filter by status.

Step 2

Set up the theme

Theme settings are under Look and feel in the survey editor. 

Layout

The New Survey Taking Experience, previously called the Simple layout, provides a focus outline users can see without relying on color.  As of June 3, 2026, the New Survey Taking Experience is turned on by default for any new survey.

To upgrade an existing survey, open Look and feel, select the Layout tab, then select the new survey taking experience tile at the top of the panel. 

Note: Surveys copied or imported from older surveys retain their legacy features until they are upgraded.

Some features and question types are not available in the New Survey Taking Experience. You can return to the legacy experience in Survey options on the General tab. For legacy surveys, checking focus is your responsibility. Qualtrics maintains a list of features the New Survey Taking Experience does not support.

General

• Turn off the progress bar to avoid accessibility issues. Instead, turn on Question numbers in Survey options and consider writing "Question X of 10" into your questions. (The accessibility checker calls question numbers “export tags.” If it suggests “Enable survey option to show export tags,” turn on Question numbers.)
• Use an H1 header.  A proper H1 tag acts as a page title for screen reader users. Open the header in the HTML view of the rich content editor and paste in the snippet from the writing tips below.
• Give your logo alt text. If you add a logo to the header or footer, describe it in the alt text, such as "Texas Tech University." For multilingual surveys, also translate the alt text in the translation window.

Style

• Set Foreground contrast to High.
• Tab through a preview. If the focus outline is difficult to see, adjust the Primary and Secondary colors to increase visibility.
• Regular text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background, and large text needs 3:1. Lighter shades of red or gray on a white background are often inaccessible.
• Keep the default font size or larger. 

When you change background or theme colors, the New Survey Taking Experience automatically adjusts text and alert colors to maintain contrast. Review the result in Preview to confirm.

Motion

• Turn off Autoadvance on questions. Pages should not move on by themselves.
• Set the page transition to None.

Building accessible surveys

The accessibility checker does not review question wording. The following tips can help make your survey easier to navigate and deliver a more accessible experience. 

• 01 Provide contact information to get assistance

  Include help text at the start of every survey explaining how participants can contact someone if they have issues completing the survey. Respondents should be able to report issues or to request an alternative way to submit their responses. 

  Example: Having trouble with this survey? Contact [your name] at [your email] and we'll find another way for you to respond.

• 02 Describe your images

  Add alternative text description or "alt text" to every image in the Image Properties. Alt text is a concise description of the image's content and function. Qualtrics does not have the ability to mark an image as decorative, so omit images that are purely decorative. Learn more about writing good alt text by reading our Alt Text Decision Tree guide.

• 03 Identify required questions or questions with required formats

  If a question requires a response, or requires the response in a specific format through validation settings, state that in the question text so users know how to answer before proceeding.

  Example: (This question is required.)

  The New Survey Taking Experience marks required questions with an asterisk and summarizes errors at the top of the page. Stating the requirement in words still helps users who may miss the asterisk.

  

• 04 Identify the number of response choices

  Qualtrics depends on browser and operating system defaults for keyboard and screen reader behavior. When someone moves through a question’s answers, one browser may announce the position and total (“radio button 1 of 5”), while another reads only the answer text without the total. To give every survey taker the same information up front, put the number of options in the question. 

  Example: Select one of the following 8 options.

• 05 Put the scale in words

  Scale labels, including the Net Promoter Score (NPS) end labels, are not announced. Explain the scale in the question.

  Example: On a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means not at all likely and 10 means extremely likely, how likely are you to recommend this course to a friend?

• 06 Give the survey a heading

  In the header's HTML view, wrap your survey title in an H1 tag.

  Example: <h1>Your Survey Title</h1>

• 07 Paste plain text

  Text copied from Word or a web page may include formatting that could interfere with screen readers. Paste with Ctrl+Shift+V on Windows or Cmd+Shift+V on a Mac, or remove unnecessary formatting with: Tools, Review, Strip formatting.

• 08 Put words on the buttons

  By default, the navigation buttons display arrow symbols (→ and ←), which screen readers may announce inconsistently or not at all. Replace them with words such as Next and Back in Look and feel, under General, using the Next Button Text and Previous Button Text fields.

• 09 Name the survey

  The survey title appears in the browser tab, and it is the first thing a screen reader announces. Replace the default title with a more descriptive one that helps users identify the survey's purpose.

• 10 Do not rely on color to convey meaning

  Color should not be the only way that meaning is communicated. Some users cannot distinguish certain colors, so pair color with text, patterns, or icons.

• 11 Break long surveys into separate pages

  Survey pages do not use headings that screen reader users can jump between, so moving through a long page can be slow. Add page breaks to divide long surveys into shorter pages with fewer questions on each.

• 12 Set expectations

  State the estimated completion time at the beginning of the survey, and keep the survey as brief as its purpose allows. Users of assistive technology may need more time to complete a survey, and an accurate estimate helps them plan accordingly. Conclude with a clear end-of-survey message confirming that responses have been submitted.

  Example: This survey has 12 questions and takes about 5 minutes.

• 13 Caption your videos

  Any video in a survey needs accurate captions, and audio needs a transcript. See Accessible Audio & Video for guidance on captions and transcripts.

Step 3

Run the checker

The Check Survey Accessibility tool identifies question types and survey settings that do not meet WCAG 2.0 AA and links directly to each one. Results appear in the same window as ExpertReview, which also provides general recommendations for improving survey quality.

1. Open the checker

   On the Survey tab, select Tools, point to Review, and select Check survey accessibility.

   

2. Look for Accessibility: WCAG

   Accessibility issues are listed under the Accessibility: WCAG heading. Expand Affected questions to view each question that requires attention.

   

3. Select an issue

   Select a question in the list to open it directly in the survey editor. Recommendations that apply to the entire survey, rather than a single question, typically open Survey options or Look and feel.

   

4. Correct issues and rescan

   Change each flagged question to an accessible question type or adjust the related survey setting, then run the checker again. Once the Accessibility: WCAG item no longer appears, select Close and continue to the manual tests in Step 4.

Step 4

Manual tests

• Keyboard-only test

  WCAG 2.1.1 and 2.4.7

  Answer each question using Tab, Shift+Tab, the arrow keys, and Space. The focus outline should remain visible on every element.

• Reflow at 400 percent zoom

  WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow

  Set the browser zoom to 400 percent, or open the survey preview on a mobile phone. All content should fit within the width of the screen. If any question requires horizontal scrolling to read or answer, the survey does not meet this requirement.

• Form control contrast

  WCAG 1.4.11 Non-text contrast

  Radio buttons, checkboxes, text box borders, slider tracks, and the focus outline need a 3:1 contrast ratio against the background. 

• Screen orientation

  WCAG 1.3.4 Orientation

  The survey should work upright and sideways. Some people have their phone or tablet mounted in one position.

• Contact information fields

  WCAG 1.3.5 Identify input purpose

  When you ask for a name, email, or phone number, a form field with a standard label lets browsers and assistive tools fill it in for people.

• Visible labels match accessible names

  WCAG 2.5.3 Label in name

  Button text should match what people see. Someone using voice control will say “click Next” because that's what the button says.

• Screen reader check

  Screen reader spot check

  Try a page with NVDA (free for Windows) or VoiceOver (built into Macs and iPhones). You should hear each question, its choices, and any required-question note.

Accessibility checklist

Use the following checklist to work through each step of making your survey accessible. Your progress is saved in this browser, and the checklist can be printed for your records.

More from Qualtrics

• Check Survey AccessibilityThe full Qualtrics article behind this page
• New Survey Taking ExperienceFeatures, updates, and unsupported question types
• ExpertReviewQuality and accessibility suggestions for your survey
• Insert a GraphicWhere to add alt text to images
• Mobile-friendly matrix tablesSetting up accessible matrices
• ValidationForce response, request response, and custom rules
• Qualtrics accessibility commitmentAccessibility conformance reports (VPATs) for Qualtrics products

More from Texas Tech

• Alt Text Decision TreeA guide for creating usable alt text
• Document Creation TipsBest practices for accessible documents
• Training scheduleAccessibility sessions for faculty & staff