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Accessibility

We want everyone to be able to find a good gift here, whatever device or assistive technology they use.

Last updated

Our standard

GiftWiseList aims to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at level AA. The site is small and built by hand, which makes that goal realistic, and accessibility is checked as part of every design change rather than audited once and forgotten.

What we do

  • Keyboard. Every link, button and form control can be reached and operated with the keyboard alone, in a logical order. A “Skip to content” link is the first thing focus lands on.
  • Visible focus. The element that has keyboard focus is always shown with a clear outline; we do not hide it.
  • Structure. Pages use one main heading, a sensible heading outline, landmarks for the header, navigation, main content and footer, and real lists and buttons rather than styled generic elements.
  • Screen readers. Retailer buttons say which product they belong to and that they open in a new tab. Decorative graphics are hidden from assistive technology, and product photographs, where present, must have a plain description before the site will build.
  • Colour and contrast. Text and interactive elements meet the AA contrast minimums against their backgrounds, and colour is never the only way information is conveyed.
  • Touch and zoom. Interactive controls are at least 44 pixels tall. Layouts work at 320 pixels wide and at 200% browser zoom without horizontal scrolling or lost content.
  • Motion. The little animation the site uses is switched off when your system asks for reduced motion. Nothing autoplays, flashes or moves on its own.
  • Plain language. Guides are written in short, direct sentences, with headings that say what each section is for.

Known limitations

  • Retailer sites. “Check price” buttons lead to other companies’ websites, whose accessibility we do not control. If a retailer’s page is a barrier, the product name in our guide can be searched on any retailer you prefer.
  • Opening in a new tab. Retailer links open in a new tab so that the guide stays where you left it. We announce this in the link text for assistive technology; if you would prefer they opened in the same tab, most browsers offer a setting or a modifier key to override it.
  • Testing coverage. We test with automated tools plus keyboard-only and screen-reader passes in current versions of the major browsers. We have not yet tested with every combination of assistive technology, and we will fix problems reported to us.

Tell us about a barrier

If any part of the site is hard to use, email hello@giftwiselist.org. It helps to include the page address, what you were trying to do, and the browser and assistive technology you were using. We read every message and aim to reply within five business days. You can also use the contact page.

Reviewing this statement

This statement is reviewed whenever the site’s design or navigation changes, and at least once a year. The date at the top shows the last review.