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Accessibility statement

We target WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Below: what we have tested, what we know is imperfect, and how to tell us when something does not work for you.

Last updated 24 August 2026

The standard we hold to

This site aims to conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 at Level AA. The European Accessibility Act has applied since 28 June 2025, and we would want to meet this standard regardless.

What is built in

  • Every text and background pair was measured against the AA contrast thresholds before the palette was adopted, not audited afterwards. Controls are measured too, against the 3:1 that SC 1.4.11 asks of a component’s own edge — which is a separate check, and one a text-contrast tool will not make for you: our primary button carries a border on the light bands for exactly that reason, because its label passed comfortably while its outline did not.
  • Semantic HTML with real landmarks, a logical heading order, and a skip link that appears on first tab.
  • Full keyboard operation, including the navigation menu and every expandable section, with a visible focus indicator throughout.
  • Expandable content uses native <details> elements, so it works with assistive technology and with scripting disabled.
  • Scroll animations are suppressed entirely when your system requests reduced motion, and all content is readable without JavaScript.
  • Form fields have persistent labels, hints and errors that are programmatically associated, with errors described in words rather than signalled by colour alone.
  • Layouts reflow to 320 px width and to 200% zoom without loss of content or horizontal scrolling.
  • The photographs are decorative and are hidden from screen readers, so nothing is announced twice. Anything a page actually needs you to read — including the sample assessment on the home page — is real text rather than a picture of text, so it stays sharp at 200% zoom and can be selected, searched and read aloud.

How it was tested

Automated testing with axe, plus manual keyboard traversal and checks at 200% zoom and 320 px width. Automated tools catch a minority of real problems, so we treat a clean run as a floor rather than a result.

Known limitations

  • We have not yet completed testing with every screen reader and browser combination. If you use one we have missed and hit a problem, telling us is the fastest way for it to get fixed.
  • Articles are written by us in the content system. If an image is published without useful alternative text, that is an authoring mistake. Report it and we will correct it.
  • The content management system at /studio is third-party software used only by our own editors, and its accessibility is not within our control.

Tell us when we get it wrong

Email dhirajkhanna@verhelm.com with the page and what went wrong. We aim to reply within five working days and to fix real barriers. If you would prefer the same information in another format, ask and we will send it.