Standard we target
The Site is designed to comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA. WCAG 2.2 is the W3C's current recommendation for accessible web content; the AA conformance level is the standard most public-sector and major-private sites adopt.
The Site also follows the United Kingdom's Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 as a non-binding reference, and the EU's Web Accessibility Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/2102) standard EN 301 549. While ShipCalculators.com is not a public-sector body and therefore not legally required to meet these regulations, we adopt them as best practice.
What works well
- Skip-to-main-content link on every page (the first focusable element).
- Keyboard navigation for every interactive element. Tab order follows reading order.
:focus-visibleoutlines are visible on every focusable element. - Colour contrast meets WCAG AA (4.5:1 for body text, 3:1 for large text). The brand-navy on white meets AAA on body copy.
- Heading hierarchy: every page has one
<h1>followed by<h2>/<h3>in order. Calculator pages and wiki articles both follow the pattern. - Form labels: every input is associated with a visible
<label>. Error messages announce viaaria-live. - Tables: all data tables use
<th>headers; complex tables use scope attributes. - Mathematical notation: KaTeX renders formulas with semantically meaningful HTML (so screen readers can announce them); a textual fallback is provided in the symbol legend on every calc page.
- Mobile and zoom: layouts reflow to 320 px viewport without horizontal scrolling. Text scales to 200 % without loss of function.
- No autoplaying media. No flashing content. No motion-triggered traps.
- Language declared: every page emits
<html lang="en">(anden-GBfor content metadata).
Known gaps
We are aware of the following barriers; each is tracked as an open issue:
- Screen-reader testing matrix: NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, and TalkBack manual audit is on the roadmap, not yet completed.
- Windows High Contrast Mode styling has not been declared explicitly; the Site looks correct in our testing but no formal assertion yet.
- Touch target size: a portion of secondary navigation links may be smaller than the WCAG 2.2 AA recommended 24x24 CSS px target. The tighter 44x44 best-practice target is on the to-do list.
- JavaScript-off behaviour: calculator inputs require JavaScript to compute results. The page renders the formula and citations without JS, but the interactive result will not update. We are working on a server-prefilled default-result fallback so the page is meaningful with JS off.
How to report a barrier
If you encounter a page or element that is not accessible to you, email editorial@shipcalculators.com with the page URL, a description of the barrier, and your assistive technology / browser combination. We treat accessibility reports with the same urgency as factual-error reports: acknowledged within two working days, fixed in days to weeks depending on scope.
Enforcement
The Site is privately operated and not subject to the United Kingdom's PSB accessibility-regulation enforcement framework. If you believe a barrier amounts to discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 (UK) or the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882, in force 2025-06-28 for relevant private-sector services), you may pursue the route described in those instruments. We will engage with any such inquiry directly and in good faith.
Compatibility
The Site supports current and recent versions of major browsers: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari (macOS and iOS), and the default browsers on Android. Internet Explorer 11 is not supported; you'll see a styled-but-unfeatured page if you reach the Site on it. The published browser support window is in app/.browserslistrc: > 0.5%, last 2 versions, last 2 years, not dead, not ie 11.
Statement preparation and review
This statement was first published 2026-05-07. It is reviewed at least once per quarter and after every substantive change to the Site's templates or interaction patterns.