Accessibility
What we build to, what we test, what we know we have not tested, and how to tell us when we have got it wrong.
Where we are
Every page template on this site is checked automatically against the WCAG 2.1 A and AA rulesets on every build, at two screen widths, using axe-core — the same open-source engine most accessibility tooling is built on. A build that introduces a critical or serious violation fails and does not ship. The first time we ran it, it found 120 blocking elements. There are now none.
What that does not mean
Automated testing catches somewhere between a third and a half of the barriers a real person hits. Zero violations is the floor, not the ceiling, and we would rather say so than imply a clean scan is a clean experience. Specifically, the following have not been audited by a person or with assistive technology:
- Focus order through the ten-step intake wizard
- Whether our error messages explain themselves when read aloud rather than seen
- Screen-reader flow through the side-by-side proposal comparison, which is a wide table by nature
- Any of it with voice control, or with a switch device
If you use one of those and something does not work, you know more about it than our tests do.
What we have deliberately not done
There is no accessibility overlay on this site — no floating button that offers to change contrast, resize text, or “enable screen-reader mode”. That is a considered choice rather than an omission.
Overlays are widely opposed by the people they claim to serve, and hundreds of United States accessibility lawsuits have been filed against websites that had one installed. No law requires a website to carry one. What the law is concerned with is whether the site itself works. A widget layered over an inaccessible page does not make it accessible; it makes it harder to fix, and it can break the assistive technology a visitor has already configured to their own needs. We would rather spend the money on the page underneath.
Things we have done on purpose
- Every control reachable and operable by keyboard alone, including the menu and the wide comparison tables
- Text contrast at 4.5:1 or better against its background, everywhere — the brand red was darkened for this
- Real labels bound to every form field, not placeholder text pretending to be one
- Horizontally scrolling tables focusable and announced, rather than reachable only by dragging
- No content that depends on colour alone to carry its meaning
- No time limits on the intake, and nothing that moves, flashes or auto-plays
Telling us something is wrong
Use the contact form and say what you were trying to do, what happened, and what you were using — browser, and any assistive technology. A person reads every one of those. We aim to reply within one business day and to tell you plainly whether it is something we can fix quickly, something that will take longer, or something we are not going to be able to change, rather than leaving you to guess from silence.
If a barrier is stopping your Board from completing a management search, say so and we will complete the intake with you directly — by email, on a call, or however works. That offer is not a workaround we are pleased with, and it is not a substitute for fixing the page, but it should never be the reason a Board cannot use this.
This statement was last reviewed on the date of the release shown in the footer. It describes what is true now, not what we intend. When we say something has not been audited, that is because it has not been audited.