C++ Without Barriers: How to Make Code Accessible to Everyone

Why Accessibility Is Not About "Weakness" but About Code Quality

When we write in C++, we are used to thinking about performance, memory, and speed. But there is another aspect that is often overlooked — accessibility. This is not just a trendy term from the world of web development. In C++, application accessibility is the ability for people with disabilities (visual, hearing, motor impairments) to use your software on par with others.

Imagine: you created a cool graphic editor or a console utility. But if it is not readable by a screen reader or cannot be controlled with a keyboard — you are cutting off 15–20% of users. Moreover, accessibility is often a legal requirement (for example, in the USA — Section 508, in Europe — EN 301 549).

In this article, we will look at how to implement a11y best practices (a11y is a numeronym for accessibility) in C++ projects without sacrificing performance. Let's go!

Where to Start: Basic Principles of Inclusive Code

Before diving into the code, remember the three pillars:

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• Perceivable — information must be accessible through at least one sense (sight, hearing, touch).
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• Operable — the interface must work with a keyboard, voice, or switches.
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• Understandable — element behavior is predictable, errors are clear.
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In C++, this is especially important because we often work with low-level APIs where semantics are lost. For example, drawing a button via OpenGL will not give you automatic screen reader support — it needs to be added manually.

Semantic Markup in C++ GUI: Qt and Beyond

The most common way to add accessibility in C++ is to use the Qt framework. It has built-in support via QAccessibleInterface. But even if you are writing in pure WinAPI — there is IAccessible.

Example: Making a Button Accessible

Suppose you have a custom button rendered via QPainter. Without accessibility, a screen reader will simply see a "rectangle". Let's fix that:

#include <QAccessible>\n#include <QAccessibleWidget>\n#include <QPushButton>\n\nclass AccessibleButton : public QAccessibleWidget {\npublic:\n    explicit AccessibleButton(QWidget* widget)\n        : QAccessibleWidget(widget, QAccessible::Button) {}\n\n    QString text(QAccessible::Text t) const override {\n        if (t == QAccessible::Name) {\n            auto* btn = qobject_cast<QPushButton*>(widget());\n            return btn ? btn->text() : QString();\n        }\n        return QAccessibleWidget::text(t);\n    }\n};\n\n// Usage:\nQPushButton* btn = new QPushButton("Submit");\nQAccessible::registerAccessibleFactory(\n    [](QObject* obj) -> QAccessibleInterface* {\n        if (auto* btn = qobject_cast<QPushButton*>(obj)) {\n            return new AccessibleButton(btn);\n        }\n        return nullptr;\n    }\n);

Now the screen reader will read "Submit, button". Magic? No, just inclusive code.

Accessibility in C++ Console Applications

It might seem that the console is a thing of the past. But many utilities, CI/CD pipelines, and server applications work precisely in the terminal. How to make them accessible?

Proper Output for Screen Readers

A screen reader (e.g., NVDA, JAWS) reads the console line by line. If you output a table using ASCII characters — it's a nightmare. Better to use structured output:

#include <iostream>\n#include <string>\n#include <vector>\n\nstruct User {\n    std::string name;\n    int age;\n};\n\nvoid printAccessibleTable(const std::vector<User>& users) {\n    // Screen reader friendly: first header, then data\n    std::cout << "User table:" << std::endl;\n    for (const auto&