Emojis
Emojis can help communicate ideas or concepts very succinctly, but they can cause problems for people with low vision, people with cognitive issues, and screen reader users.
Companion video: Testing emojis with screen-reader
Use emojis sparingly and thoughtfully
- Never replace a word or letter with an emoji.
- Never use an emoji in the middle of a word – the best place is at the end of a sentence.
- Avoid using emojis as bullet points.
- Only use emojis that are clearly visible in both light and dark screen modes.
- Be aware of cultural differences in how an emoji may be interpreted.
Although they seem like just another image, emojis are a type of Unicode character. Each emoji has its own predefined name, which screen readers will read out loud and may not match your intended meaning.
Emojis do not look the same on different devices and operating systems, and sometimes may be replaced with a blank placeholder like an empty box. Visit Emojipedia to find the predefined name for an emoji and how it will look.
If you have access to edit the HTML markup, there are steps you can take to make emojis more accessible for screen reader users.