10 minute training: to accessible content; cognitive load
Over the last few blogs, i’ve spoken about some of the ways you can improve the accessibility of your content. I’ve discussed screen readers, alt text, keeping things camel case and other practical and structural ways to make your content accessible to people.
But, as we know, accessibility isn’t just about the physical challenges people face when accessing your content. It’s also important to talk about the mental and neurological implications and how we can make content accessible.
Cognitive load refers to the amount of working memory resources used.
It refers to the information that our brains manipulate at that moment. Human memory can be divided into working memory and long-term memory. Processing new information results in ‘cognitive load’ on the working memory which affects learning outcomes. Easing the cognitive load for your users when reading content means that they’ll easily process that new information.
Cognitive load differs from person to person but cognitive load can also be influenced by things like environment or age. It can also be affected by neurological disorders like Autism and ADHD or dyslexia.
As with all other considerations about accessibility, when you design to make content accessible, you benefit everyone. Below, are some examples of ways you can ease the cognitive load in your content design.
Make content understandable and navigatable
This feels like it should be obvious, but as we know there are lots of factors that can help make content understandable.
Content with purpose
Content with purpose is always going to be more accessible compared to content that is being created for content's sake. Before you start designing your content think about its purpose. Who is your audience? What are you trying to get them to do? Why do you want them to do that task? Having a clear purpose for your content will help you when it comes to communicating clearly with your audience.
Meaningful site hierarchy
Site hierarchy refers to the structure and organisation of the content and navigation within a website. When site hierarchy is well-designed, it helps to reduce cognitive load, or the mental effort required for users to understand and use the website. Creating a good site hierarchy does require some effort and investment. Consider dividing the site into logical sections with clear headings, use familiar words in the menu, and making the content hierarchy easy to perceive and understand with clear type sizes and contrasts. When developing your site hierarchy one trap content designers can sometimes fall into is designing a hierarchy that is too grounded in internal structures or naming conventions. Be mindful of this and consider your user's perspective, rather than how your company is organised.
Strong page structure
In my previous post about accessible documents, we talked about the importance of using proper page structures and how to do this with headings and tagging. We talked about the importance of using strong page structures and how this was an accessibility need for people using screen readers. That’s certainly still true. But, consider too the additional cognitive load needed by any user when navigating a page. Most users will scan content to find the elements that are most relevant to them or their needs. Proper title structures and using elements like bulleted lists and content displayed in sections means that your user can quickly get to the information they need.
Make it searchable
Speaking of quickly getting to the information needed, having a robust search feature on your page is imperative.
It is a useful tool for users with impaired executive function or memory, as well as those who may have age-related forgetfulness or are easily distracted. A well-designed search function should correct misspellings, provide relevant results, and offer auto-corrected search terms. Presenting search results under appropriate headings and categories can also help users find what they are looking for quickly and efficiently.
Consider too that many users will use a search engine before getting to your site to find the content you need. You should consider how you can adopt search engine optimization to make this process more successful.
Designing for mistakes
You should design your content so that margin for error is minimized. Not only do mistakes pose a barrier for the completion of tasks, but the impact that making mistakes can have on your user could mean that they give up together.
When we talk about user error that could be anything from not completing a form correctly, not completing a translation or simply not reaching or engaging with the information that’s needed.
When users make mistakes it can be disheartening to be trying to complete something and getting it wrong.
There are two ways to mitigate user error. Firstly, designing content that makes errors less likely. This includes things like:
Form design
Using a drop-down list for form entries, rather than free text.
Using autocomplete, auto-fill and personalisation
Automatic correction of input errors, this is specifically helpful for data input, or address input.
Labels
Use common words and easy-to-understand language,
Make units of measurement clear (DD/MM/YYYY) or, give the option to toggle things like units of measurement or other metrics to meet users’ familiarity.
Timeouts
Be mindful that different people complete tasks at different speeds. Timeouts can mean that some users will complete a task only to be told that it has been lost or unsaved.
If you must timeout content be sure to include clear warnings about this at the beginning of your user journey.
Secondly, design to allow users to correct themselves
Let users go back
Ensure that your page or piece of content allows users to navigate back to the task they were completing
Consider where else a user might navigate to when they are completing a task. I.e. A user submitting a job description might want to be able to navigate back to the job description.
Undo
Most web interfaces will allow users to CTRL+Z and undo their last action.
By letting users change their actions you allow them to correct information and complete tasks at their own pace.
Reactive form fields that detect incorrect values- and information on how to correct
This can be helpful for form submission. Forms that prompt users to amend something as they are completing a task are more likely to be corrected than those which are identified towards the end of the task.
Keeping your user focused
Distractions can impede users with cognitive and learning disabilities from successfully completing their tasks. If a user becomes distracted, they may struggle to remember their previous task, making it challenging for them to resume.
When designing to overcome cognitive overload consider the following:
Streamline processes and workflows by including only necessary steps and separating optional steps.
Control interruptions by providing an easy way to turn off reminders and changes in content, and allowing users to limit the content that may cause distractions or unwanted reactions.
Keep the interface simple by providing five or fewer main choices per screen and removing unnecessary content, potentially through a simplified version.
Emphasize the start of important tasks by providing an estimate of the effort required (time, resources needed, and process overview), and clearly communicating when a task is still in-process and when it has been completed.
Allow for adaptations
Because cognitive overload is relatively common, lots of people have different personal mechanisms that they use to help maintain a workable level of cognitive load. Consider designing your content so that you allow for adaptation with the ability to use add-ons and extensions as assistive technology.
Make text selectable. Selecting text on a page is a common user action and is something we see when users are trying to digest lots of information on a page or focus in on the information that they need. Make text selectable and provide a text alternative for non-selectable text to make it accessible to assistive technology.
Enable APIs and Extensions like:
Spell checkers and grammar checkers
Text-to-speech
Content simplification,
Password management
Cognitive load is a crucial aspect of accessibility that should not be overlooked. It refers to the number of working memory resources used while processing new information. To ease the cognitive load in content design, it is important to make content understandable and navigable, have a clear purpose, well-designed site hierarchy and page structure, provide search functionality, minimize user error, and allow users to support themselves. By taking these steps, you can ensure that your content is accessible to all users and that they can easily process the information presented. Designing for cognitive load is not just about accessibility, but it also results in a better user experience for everyone.
The impact of creating accessible content is well worth the time it takes to make sure your content is usable by everyone. If you’d like to talk more about designing an accessible content strategy then feel free to get in touch with Cat Prill.
