Google Forms & Accessibility: Small Changes, Better Experiences

Banner: Geometric design and accessibility icon. Text: 'Web Accessibility'

Small changes to your Google Form can make a big difference for people who use screen readers, keyboard navigation, voice control, and other assistive technologies.

Google Forms are a popular way to create surveys, registrations, sign-up forms, and questionnaires. Thoughtful design choices during setup can make your forms easier for more people to use, including people with disabilities.

Table of Contents

Start With a Strong Foundation

Before adding questions, set up your form for success:

  • Give the form a meaningful title that clearly describes its purpose.
  • Add a brief description that explains what the form is for.
  • Include contact information (such as an email address or phone number) so respondents can reach someone if they encounter accessibility barriers or need assistance completing the form.
  • Customize your confirmation message under Settings to provide clear next steps or contact details after submission.
  • Keep autosave enabled so people do not lose their work if they need to pause and return later. Manage autosave under Settings.
  • Avoid using third-party add-ons that add strict time limits to forms, as respondents process and enter information at different speeds.
  • Consider enabling a progress bar for longer surveys.
  • Review form settings, including sign-in requirements, email collection, and response limits, to make sure they support your intended audience.

Write Clear Questions

Clear writing benefits everyone. Use plain language, define unfamiliar terms, and provide instructions when needed. Make question prompts specific so respondents know exactly what information you need.

Short sentences, familiar words, and clear instructions reduce confusion and help people understand your questions the first time they read them.

When using response validation for specific input formats, add clear custom error text to explain how to fix the entry.

Avoid grid question types when possible. Multiple-choice and checkbox grids create table layouts that are difficult to navigate with screen readers and mobile screens. Instead, use standard multiple-choice or checkbox questions.

For longer forms:

  • Break content into logical sections, but keep short forms on a single page to prevent unnecessary navigation steps.
  • Add section titles and descriptions.
  • Group related questions together.
  • Avoid making questions required unless they are truly necessary.

Playbook: Accessible Text on Your Website includes guidance on writing clearly, using plain language, and creating content that is easier for everyone to understand.

Use Accessible Dates

Date pickers can create challenges for people using assistive technology. While browser and operating system support continues to improve, experiences still vary.

Whenever possible, consider alternatives such as:

  • A text field with clear instructions for entering a date.
  • A multiple-choice question when the list of possible dates is already known.

For example, instead of a date picker, you might ask:

Enter the date (for example, January 15, 2026). Include the month, day, and year.

These alternatives often work more consistently across devices, browsers, and assistive technologies.

Make Images and Videos Accessible

Images and videos need to be accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities,

For images:

  • Question and Standalone Images: Add a meaningful caption using the image options menu. In Google Forms, image captions serve as alternative text.
  • Header Banner Images: Google Forms does not provide alternative text or captions for the banner image at the top of a form. Include any critical information from the header image in the form title or description text.
  • Multiple-Choice Answer Images: Google Forms does not support captions or alt text for images used as answer choices. Always include a descriptive text label for the option (for example, write "Design 1: Maroon shirt with Gold Champ Mascot" instead of just "Option 1").
  • General Image Best Practice: Focus on the purpose or message of the image rather than describing every visual detail. If an image contains important text, repeat that text in the question prompt or description.

Playbook: Image Text Alternatives on Your Website explains how to write effective alternative text that communicates the purpose and meaning of images.

If respondents need to reference an image to answer a question, mention the image in the question text. This helps ensure screen reader users know the image is present.

For videos:

  • Use videos with accurate, human-reviewed captions.
  • Mention the video in the question text so respondents know it is available.
  • Consider linking to the video instead of embedding it when appropriate.
  • Avoid animated backgrounds or autoplaying media.

Playbook: Video & Audio Accessibility on Your Website explains how to provide captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions for multimedia content.

Improve Readability

Simple design choices have a significant impact on usability.

When customizing a Google Form:

  • Use fonts that are easy to read.
  • Keep text at 12-point size or larger.
  • Ensure sufficient color contrast between text and backgrounds so content remains readable for people with low vision and color vision differences.
  • Check colors used in charts, graphs, and images that convey information.

If you customize colors, test them with a color contrast checker before publishing.

Playbook: Contrast & Color on Your Website provides instructions on evaluating contrast ratios for text and visual elements, plus guidance on avoiding color alone to convey information.

Link text should tell people where the link goes.

Avoid generic link phrasing such as:

  • Click here
  • Read more
  • Learn more

Instead, describe the destination:

  • Bulldog Welcome Week Event Schedule
  • Kirby Student Center Room Reservations
  • Bagley Nature Area Trail Map

Playbook: Accessible Links on Your Website explains how to create descriptive links that help people understand where a link goes before selecting it.

Avoid Embedding Forms in Web Pages

Providing a direct link to your Google Form is often the simplest option. Embedded forms can introduce keyboard navigation traps, screen reader context loss, and cramped layout issues on smaller screens. Share a direct link to the form instead of embedding it in a webpage whenever possible.

Test Before Sharing

Before publishing or distributing your form, take two minutes to run through a quick quality check:

  • Keyboard Navigation: Complete the form using only your keyboard (Tab, Shift+Tab, Spacebar, Enter, and Arrow keys). Make sure you can reach every question, option, and button without using a mouse.
  • Mobile Review: Preview the form on a mobile device to ensure text size, images, and answer choices remain easy to read and select on smaller screens.

Key Takeaways

When creating or reviewing a Google Form, keep these accessibility habits in mind:

  • Keep layout simple: Avoid grid question types and consider alternatives to date pickers when plain text or standard options work.
  • Make visual media accessible: Add meaningful image captions and ensure videos include accurate captions.
  • Design for readability: Use plain language, clear question wording, descriptive link text, readable fonts, and strong color contrast.
  • Support the respondent: Keep autosave enabled, provide custom error messages for validated fields, and offer an alternative contact method.
  • Test before sending: Perform a quick keyboard-only walk-through and mobile check.

A little planning helps remove barriers and makes your forms easier for more people to complete.

Additional Google Forms Information

While there is no official UMN-specific tool for reviewing Google Forms accessibility, following the 7 Core Accessibility Skills can help identify and address common accessibility issues.

Additional guidance: