A screen reader is software that turns what is on a screen into speech or braille. Blind and low-vision people use one to browse websites, read email and use apps, moving through a page with keyboard commands or touch gestures instead of looking at it.
The screen readers people actually use
- VoiceOver is built into Apple's Mac, iPhone and iPad.
- TalkBack is built into Android.
- NVDA is a free, open-source screen reader for Windows.
- JAWS is a long-established commercial Windows screen reader.
- Narrator is built into Windows.
How a screen reader reads a web page
It does not look at pixels. The browser exposes an accessibility tree built from your HTML: each element's role (heading, link, button, text field), its name and its state. The screen reader announces those, for example "Book now, button" or "Email, edit text, required".
Users rarely listen from top to bottom. They jump between headings, open a list of every link on the page, skip to landmarks like the main content or navigation, and tab through form fields. That is why a logical heading order and descriptive link text matter so much: they are the table of contents a screen reader user navigates by.
A concrete example: a contact page heard aloud
On a builder's contact page, a sighted visitor sees a map, a phone number and a form. With VoiceOver, the experience might be: "Image" (the map has no alt text), "link, click here" (no idea where it goes), then form fields announced only as "edit text" because their labels are placeholder text. After fixes, it reads: "Map showing our yard on Mill Road", "Call 0161 555 0123, link", "Your name, edit text, required". Same page, now usable.
When this matters for your site
Any public site will have screen reader visitors, and accessibility standards such as WCAG assume your pages work with one. Testing yourself is free: turn on VoiceOver (Command plus F5 on a Mac) or install NVDA, then try to complete your main task, like booking or contacting you, without looking. Ten minutes usually reveals the worst problems.
Mistakes that break screen reader use
- Headings chosen for size, not structure. Skipping levels or styling plain text to look like headings breaks navigation.
- Vague link text. A list of links reading "Read more, Read more, Read more" is useless out of context.
- Unlabelled buttons and fields. Icon buttons need an accessible name, often via ARIA.
- Silent updates. Errors or cart changes that appear visually but are never announced.
- Text inside images. Prices or opening hours baked into a graphic cannot be read.
Related terms
- ARIA: attributes that give screen readers extra information.
- Alt text: what a screen reader says for an image.
- WCAG: the standard screen reader compatibility is judged against.
- Web accessibility: the broader practice that includes screen reader support.