We are aiming at the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard. We are not going to claim we have finished, because that is rarely true of any website. What follows is what we have actually done and what we know is still open.
What we have built in
- Color contrast. Every text and background pairing on the site was checked against the AA contrast threshold before it was used. Our large display type and our small print were checked separately, because they have different thresholds.
- Motion respects your settings. The illustrations grow and the coins settle as you scroll. If your device is set to reduce motion, all of it is switched off and the page renders completely still.
- Nothing depends on color alone. Where we distinguish one thing from another, there is a label or a shape doing the work as well as the color.
- Real headings and real forms. Pages use a proper heading order, and every form field has a visible label attached to it rather than a placeholder standing in for one.
- Text you can enlarge. Type is set in relative units and the layout reflows rather than breaking when you zoom.
- Images carry descriptions. Photographs have alternative text. Decorative illustrations are marked as decorative so a screen reader skips them rather than reading out a list of flowers.
- Content works without JavaScript. If scripts fail, every page still renders and can be read. A few interactive pieces — the four calculators, the Dignity Box pop-up, and sending our forms — do need JavaScript. If any of them is not working for you, email amber@thecoinjar.org and we will take your application, Dignity Box request or question that way.
What we know is still open
- We have not yet completed a full audit with assistive technology users. We would like to, and would welcome the help.
- Some third-party pieces — the payment flow in particular — are outside our direct control. We have chosen providers with a good record, but we cannot promise their pages behave exactly as ours do.
- Our printed materials are not yet available in large print or plain-text versions. Ask and we will make one for you.
If something on this site does not work for you
Please tell us, and please do not soften it. Write to amber@thecoinjar.org with the page and what went wrong, and we will fix it and reply to tell you when it is done.
If the barrier is stopping you applying for help right now, do not wait for the fix. Email us the same details you would have put in the form — the amount, who it is owed to and when it is due — and we will take it from there. No form is more important than the person trying to use it.
