Using the App

Mobile use and accessibility

PathologyLabTraining is a responsive web app. Most features work well on a phone or tablet; a small number are best on a laptop. There is no separate native app.

What works well on mobile

• Reading interview questions and articles: fully responsive
• Taking a Practice Test: works on a phone, with more scrolling on longer questions
• AI Interview Coach: typed answers work everywhere; spoken answers depend on your browser's speech recognition (Chrome and Edge work best)
• Help chat: opens as a full-width panel on a phone
• Specialty pages, guides and the CPD log: full content
• Account management, billing and login: fully responsive

What is best on a laptop or desktop

• Virtual Lab and LIMS simulations: several have side-by-side panels or drag-and-drop steps
• NHS Application Support and portfolio drafting: long-form writing is faster with a keyboard
• Organisation administration and SSO setup: long URLs, tables and metadata are easier on a large screen
• Result Interpretation modules: work on a phone, but the reference and result panes are tighter

Add to Home Screen

The site is installable as a web app. In Safari on iOS use Share → Add to Home Screen; in Chrome on Android use the menu → Add to Home screen or Install app. It then opens full-screen without the browser bars.

Accessibility

We work to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at level AA. The site is currently partially conformant: most of it meets the standard, and we are fixing the remaining issues as we find them. The full position is in our Accessibility statement.

What is in place:

• Keyboard navigation: interactive elements are reachable with Tab, Enter activates buttons, Escape closes overlays. The help chat can be used with the keyboard alone.
• Screen reader support: semantic HTML, labels on icon-only buttons, and a live region on the chat so new assistant messages are announced without stealing focus.
• Touch targets: interactive elements on mobile meet the 44 by 44 pixel minimum.
• Reduced motion: animations respect your operating system's reduced-motion setting.
• Focus management: when a panel opens, focus moves into it, and returns to the trigger when it closes.

Known limitations

• No native iOS or Android app; everything runs in the browser.
• Drag-and-drop simulators are not yet optimised for screen readers. We are working on alternative interaction patterns.
• Spoken answers in the AI Interview Coach use your browser's speech recognition. Safari on iOS and Firefox have limited support; type your answer instead.
• PDF downloads (certificates, CPD records, reports) are most reliable in Chrome or Edge.

Reporting an accessibility issue

We treat accessibility regressions as bugs. Email [email protected] with:

• The page address and the specific element
• Your browser and assistive technology (for example Chrome with NVDA)
• A short description or screen recording if you can

We aim to respond within 5 working days, as set out in the Accessibility statement.

Browser support

We test against the current and previous version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari (macOS and iOS). Older browsers may work but are not actively tested. Internet Explorer is not supported.