How we made Kindera sound right when read by a screen reader
In general, when talking about websites we focus too much on its aesthetic. We spend countless hours ensuring it is on brand, that the website works on different devices and that it looks great.
But what does your website sound like?
That’s the question we ask a lot at Kindera and a problem we had to resolve for our own company name.
Why the misspelling?
Anyone who has ever had to name something will know the pain of naming something — especially a company name. Our name had to be:
- memorable
- convey our values
- be unique
- be memorable
- have an available domain
- have available social media handles
We like Kindera because as it is both quirky and ticks everything off the previous list; however, its deliberate misspelling means a screen reader won’t find it easy to pronounce.
How is Kindera pronounced?
Good question. It could be Kin-dera, Kind-era or Kinder-a (any of which is how a screen reader will pronounces).
It is meant to be pronounced in the same way as Kinderer.
How did we get a screen reader to pronounce Kindera properly?
Wherever the word Kindera appears, we add some extra markup containing an aria-label. Here is the markup we use…
The aria-label is recognised and read aloud by screen readers instead of the text.
Sure, it takes extra effort but it is our brand name and we want it to sound right. Watch the following video to hear for yourself.
What else should you consider?
As you begin to listen to your website, you'll likely identify mispronunciations or elements that sound unnatural. Telephone numbers, for instance, can be particularly challenging.
A full stop within a telephone number signals a screen reader to pause briefly, allowing the number to be read in a more natural, conversational tone instead of as a rapid sequence of digits.