Live Chat Accessibility

For modern websites, accessibility is becoming increasingly important today. User experience, website usability, and navigation have become a priority for many companies. The same requirements are applied to the third-party software used by websites, like a live chat tool.

Keyboard accessibility and compatibility with screen readers are critical to ensure all users have access to the live chat tool. We at Provide Support believe that exceptional customer service should be accessible to everyone.

With the help of Provide Support Live Chat, your communication will become inclusive, allowing all users, regardless of their abilities, to interact with your live chat agents in real time. Our Live Chat Window is designed with WCAG 2.0 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) in mind, focusing on the four core principles of accessibility: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

Key accessibility features of the Live Chat Window

To ensure a seamless experience for visitors with visual, motor, or cognitive impairments, the Provide Support Live Chat Window includes the following specialized features:

Full keyboard navigation

For users who navigate the web without a mouse, our chat window supports comprehensive keyboard interactions:

• Focus indicators: Every control (buttons, input fields, and links) can be reached using the Tab key and is highlighted with a clear, high-contrast outline when focused.
• Escape command: The escape button can be used to end an active chat session and proceed to the Post Chat Survey. For the pre-chat survey and offline form, this button is used to minimize the window.

Screen reader compatibility and ARIA Labels

ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) labels are used in the Live Chat Window to ensure that screen readers can accurately describe the chat interface.

All interactive elements are correctly labeled so screen readers can announce the chat's current status (online/offline) and the purpose of buttons.

You can also specify custom texts for your chat links' ARIA labels. You can do this in your account on the Account Settings / Live Chat Window page, Texts section. Texts from "Online chat button tooltip" and "Offline chat button tooltip" are used for both aria labels, alt and title attributes of the chat link.

High contrast and visual clarity

Live Chat window supports standard browser zoom and screen magnifiers without breaking the layout. We maintain a clean, high-contrast design to ensure that text is readable for users with low vision or color blindness. The interface remains fully functional even when text is scaled, meeting the standard WCAG requirements for text resizing.

Additionally, it is possible to adjust the color scheme of the chat window to comply with WCAG requirements. You can do this in your account on the Account Settings / Live Chat Window page in the Appearance section.

Why WCAG 2.0 compliance matters

• Equal access: we remove barriers, ensuring that users with auditory disabilities have a text-based alternative to phone support.
• Legal and ethical standards: adhering to WCAG guidelines helps meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and Section 508 requirements.
• Better user experience for everyone: accessible design often leads to a cleaner, more intuitive interface that benefits every single visitor to a website's online chat.