Accessibility Statement - The Valley Guide

Our commitment to making this site usable for everyone.

The short version: This site is built on an accessible foundation and follows web accessibility best practices. If you encounter barriers, please let me know so I can fix them.

Last updated: December 4, 2025

Our commitment

The Valley Guide should be usable by everyone, regardless of ability or technology. That means:

  • You can navigate the entire site with just a keyboard
  • Screen readers can understand and announce all content properly
  • Text remains readable when zoomed to 200%
  • Color isn’t the only way information is conveyed
  • Animations respect your motion preferences
  • Dark mode works with your system preferences

We want to make sure the site actually works for people; we’re not just checking boxes on some accessibility list.

Accessibility features

Here’s what’s built into the site:

Keyboard navigation

  • Skip to content link: Press Tab when you first land on a page. You’ll see a “Skip to main content” link that bypasses navigation.
  • Logical tab order: Tab through the page in a sensible sequence that follows the visual layout.
  • Visible focus indicators: You can always see where keyboard focus is.
  • No keyboard traps: You won’t get stuck in any component.

Screen reader support

  • Semantic HTML: Proper headings, landmarks, and structure so screen readers can navigate efficiently.
  • Alt text for images: All meaningful images have descriptive alternative text.
  • ARIA labels: Interactive elements are properly labeled, even when the visual design doesn’t show text.
  • Skip links and landmarks: Quick navigation to main content and key page sections.

Visual design

  • Color contrast: Text meets WCAG AA standards for contrast (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text).
  • Dark mode: Automatically respects your system color scheme preference, or toggle manually.
  • Resizable text: Zoom up to 200% without text getting cut off or overlapping.
  • Clear typography: Readable fonts at comfortable sizes.

Motion and animations

  • Respects prefers-reduced-motion: If you’ve set your device to reduce motion, animations are minimized or removed.
  • No autoplay: Nothing moves, flashes, or scrolls automatically without your control.

Forms and interactions

  • Clear labels: Every form field is properly labeled.
  • Error messages: If something goes wrong, you’ll get a clear explanation of what and how to fix it.
  • Sufficient click targets: Buttons and links are large enough to click or tap easily (minimum 44x44 pixels).

Standards and testing

This site aims to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards.

Testing includes:

  • Keyboard-only navigation
  • Screen reader testing (VoiceOver, NVDA)
  • Automated accessibility scanning
  • Manual review of color contrast and focus management

Known limitations

No site is perfect. Here’s what I’m aware of:

  • Third-party content: Embedded content from external sources (event calendars, maps, etc.) may have accessibility issues I can’t fully control.
  • Older content: Some pages may need updates to meet current standards. I’m working through these systematically.

If you find something that’s not listed here, please report it.

Technology requirements

This site should work with:

  • Modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) from the last two years
  • Screen readers like JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack
  • Browser zoom up to 200%
  • Keyboard-only navigation
  • Custom color schemes and high contrast modes

Feedback and issues

If you encounter accessibility barriers:

  • Something doesn’t work with your assistive technology
  • You can’t access specific content
  • The design makes something difficult to use
  • You have suggestions for improvement

I want to know about it. Accessibility is an ongoing process, not a one-time checklist.

Report an accessibility issue

When reporting issues, it helps if you can include:

  • What you were trying to do
  • What happened (or didn’t happen)
  • What browser, device, or assistive technology you’re using
  • The page where you encountered the problem

I’ll respond as quickly as I can and work to fix the issue.

Alternative formats

If you need content in a different format (large print, plain text, audio, etc.), let me know. I’ll do my best to accommodate your needs.

Why this matters

Accessibility isn’t a feature or a nice-to-have. It’s about making sure everyone can participate in their community, regardless of how they interact with the web.

The Comox Valley is home to people with diverse abilities and needs. If this site is going to be genuinely useful as a community resource, it needs to work for all of them.

This means building accessibility in from the start, testing with real users, and fixing problems when they’re reported. It’s not complicated (okay it’s a little complicated, but we’re trying!), it’s just the right thing to do.