Are instant apps accessible?

By Krista McPherson

Local governments and municipalities across the US are asking: “Are our web apps accessible?” as the April 2026 ADA compliance deadline approaches. This law requires that all publicly available web content and mobile applications must meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA standards.

The ArcGIS Instant Apps team has been working to support our users in building accessible web apps by designing templates with keyboard navigable layouts, ensuring that elements are properly labeled, and offering color contrast checking when choosing theme colors. Our templates enable app authors to add an alternative text description for maps and inform app users about keyboard shortcuts that zoom, pan, and rotate the map view.

Instant apps can be configured to be inclusive of many different users by following recommended practices to improve web map accessibility and by providing alternative ways of accessing information. Web accessibility is a constantly evolving topic and best practices are still emerging. The list of resources below can help you get started with creating more inclusive web content with Instant Apps and ArcGIS Online.

Web Accessibility Resources

Instant Apps

Esri Accessibility

General web accessibility

We are here to help

We hear your concerns and are actively working to ensure that your organization can create inclusive web content. Engage with our teams and your fellow users on Esri Community about accessibility questions and report any issues through Esri Technical Support. Together we can find new and creative solutions to delivering spatial information to all.

Comment with any resources and links that you think should be added to this list!

Krista McPherson

Krista is a Product Engineer on ArcGIS Instant Apps team.

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