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I'm using a bottom sheet.
On Android, people can use the back button to close it, drag it down or tap outside the area.
On iOS, people can drag it down or tap outside the area.
I'm just wondering if it's accessible enough. Would a close button / icon be good to have?
Cheers
The Human Interface Guidelines recommend always having a close/dismiss/cancel button as well as being able to swipe down to close it.
Always include a button that dismisses the modal view. For example, you might use Done or Cancel. Including a button ensures that the modal view is accessible to assistive technologies and provides an alternative to dismissal gestures.
You can read more here: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/ios/app-architecture/modality/
Looking at Google's own Material Guidelines (scroll down to "Control"), we can see that Google themselves do not deem it necessary to include a button. The ways to dismiss the modal are listed as follows:
They can be dismissed by:
- Tapping a menu item or action within the bottom sheet
- Tapping the scrim
- Swiping the sheet down
- Using a close affordance within the bottom sheet’s top app bar, if available
But they mention a close button explicitly for full-screen modules:
Display a close affordance in a full-screen modal bottom sheet.
I have also used a bottom sheet as a menu in my own app for a long while and have never had complaints from users.
Conclusion: I think it is save to assume that such a modal has enough ways to close it. So even if a user expects a button in the first 5 seconds but cannot find it, he will find SOME way to close it, simply because it is so easy.
In terms of accessibility it's good to have. Since many of the senior users like Old aged people hard to adapt to new technology, it works very effectively for them. But always it's depends on the persona you are targeting.
May be we can have two CTA's based on the task of that journey. "Begin" as one CTA other is to "cancel/close"(based on the activity). You can change the position of download icon. Best way is to create variations and test.
Cheers.
If the back button closes it, it's not strictly necessary.
However, if your goal is to improve the Accessibility, include a UI control that can close the sheet. Make sure to include a focus state for that control and specify tab order for keyboard navigation.
Here's a helpful article on how to improve the usability of a sheet: https://www.inthepocket.design/articles/improving-the-accessibility-of-bottom-sheets#:~:text=Provide%20a%20close%20button,ways%20of%20visualizing%20are%20possible.
