Built to be used without seeing it.

What this aims at

The target is WCAG 2.2 Level AA, the standard most accessibility law points at. I am not going to stamp "fully conformant" on this page. Nobody independent has audited it, and the known problems below are real. What I can tell you is which parts have been measured rather than assumed, and those are checked automatically every time the site is rebuilt, so they cannot rot quietly.

What has been done and checked

• Everything is real text

  There is not a single image on this site. No text is baked into a picture, so a screen reader can read every word, and nothing is lost if images are turned off or fail to load. The phone number is a link you can activate, not a graphic of some digits.

• It works with the keyboard alone

  Every link, button, form field, and demo can be reached and operated without a mouse, in an order that matches the order things are read aloud. Where a heading and its widget sit side by side, the heading always comes first.

• Focus is always visible

  Wherever you are on the page, there is a solid outline showing it. The rule that hides focus rings for mouse users is not used anywhere on this site, and the build fails if somebody adds it.

• Contrast is measured, not eyeballed

  Text colors are checked against the WCAG AA contrast formula every time the site is built, in both light and dark mode. One of the brand colors failed at 2.11 to 1 and is now barred from being used as text on the light background.

• Headings are a real outline

  One first-level heading per page, and no level is ever skipped, so jumping through the page by heading gives you a table of contents rather than a jumble.

• Skip past the navigation

  Press Tab on arrival and the first thing offered is a link straight to the main content, on every page.

• Animation obeys your settings

  If your device is set to reduce motion, the animations do not run. Nothing is hidden behind them, so the same words are on the page either way. That is checked on every build too.

• Changes are announced

  When something updates without a page reload, like a filtered menu or a price estimate, the new result is announced instead of changing silently.

• The form works with JavaScript off

  The audit-request form posts on its own, the plain way forms have always worked, and returns you to a page here that tells you what happens next. Nothing about reaching me depends on scripts running.

• Filter buttons behave like real radio buttons

  Each group of filters is one stop when you tab through the page, and the arrow keys move between the choices inside it, which is how a screen reader announces they ought to work.

• Targets are big enough to hit

  Every button, dropdown, and form field is at least 44 pixels tall on a phone. This was 38 until it got measured, which is exactly the sort of thing an audit is for.

What is still wrong with it

Current as of the date at the top. When one of these is fixed it comes off this list, and if something new turns up it goes on.

• It has not been tested by blind people

  This is the honest gap, and it is the one that matters most. The checks above are code, measurement, and keyboard testing by a sighted developer. They are not the same thing as somebody who uses a screen reader every day telling me what is annoying. If you are that person, I would genuinely like to hear from you.

• The booking calendar is not mine

  The appointment picker is embedded from Google, and I do not control how it behaves with a screen reader. If it gets in your way, do not fight it. Call or email and I will book the time for you by hand.

• The payment pages are not mine either

  Paying an invoice hands you over to Stripe, whose accessibility is theirs to answer for. An invoice can always be paid another way instead. Ask.

Tell me about a barrier

If any part of this site kept you from doing what you came to do, that is a defect and I want the report. You do not need to know the technical name for it. "The booking thing does not work with my screen reader" is a perfect bug report.

Email info@laurelwebstudio.com or call (724) 201-9103. You get a reply from a person within two business days, telling you either that it is fixed or when it will be.

Another way to get the same thing

Nothing here is only available one way. If a page will not cooperate, I will read it to you over the phone, send it as plain text in an email, or talk it through, whichever suits you. The free website audit is normally a written report, and it can just as easily be a phone call where I walk you through every finding. It costs the same, which is nothing.

What this means for your website

The same standards go into what I build for you, at no extra charge, because it is not a feature to be sold separately. It is a customer who can order from you instead of giving up. Everything on the checked list above is ordinary work, not a premium tier, and the free audit tells you where your current site stands on it whether or not you ever hire me.

Related

Privacy and data destruction covers what is collected and when it is deleted, and how working together works covers ownership and the audit's rules of engagement.