Announcement
► In brief
- Google has just rolled out a new feature to Chrome for Android
- This is the Listen to this page option
- It allows reading aloud a website
In the design of a site, a frequently forgotten yet crucial element is that of accessibility. Crucial, because it ensures that everyone can read, understand and interact with the astronomical amount of content available online. So, when Google makes sure to promote this entire part of the online user experience, it is important to highlight it. Let’s discover together a brand new option, available on Chrome for Android: Listen to this page.
How to listen to a web page on Chrome?
Very simple, it allows you to read a web page out loud using a synthetic voice, on Google Chrome for Android. Its operation is very simple, using the codes of an audio player: pause, scroll the content, move forward or backward 10 seconds in reading, accelerate or slow down the reading speed, activate or deactivate the highlighting of the highlighted text, autoscroll, etc. However, at present, this functionality is not offered for all websites.
Announcement
Available on Android, the functionality Listen to this page therefore allows the content of a page to be read aloud, and all in 12 languages: English, French, German, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian , Russian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish. It is also possible to modify the reading voice from a range of proposals, mainly English-speaking.
To use the Listen to this page function on compatible sites, here are the steps to follow:
- Open Google Chrome on Android
- Go to a compatible website (like ours!)
- Press the three vertical points
- Select the option Listen to this page
- You can navigate to other tabs while playing and even lock your screen, change voice, etc.
Very practical, this functionality reinforces the importance for website designers and managers to include accessibility in their specifications. Indeed, Google often wishes to promote its functionalities, there is no doubt that taking this element into account will be an important criterion in referencing and promoting pages on the search engine.
