Accessibility Statement

Guidance should be available to everyone who needs it. This page explains how the website is built to be accessible, where it still falls short, and how to tell me about any barrier you meet.

My commitment

The whole point of this website is to make practical guidance available to anyone who wants it, regardless of money, status or circumstance. That promise would mean very little if some people could not use the site at all. I want every visitor, including people who use screen readers, keyboards, magnification, voice control or other assistive technology, to be able to read the articles, understand the offer, and reach out without difficulty.

Accessibility is not a finished task. It is an ongoing responsibility, and this statement describes where the site stands today and how I keep improving it.

Why accessibility matters here

People reach out to this site at important moments: facing a hard decision, rebuilding after a setback, or trying to steady a business. Many of them are also living with a disability, a temporary injury, a slow connection, an older device, or simply a very busy day. A website that is easy to read and easy to use lowers the barrier to asking for help, and that is exactly what this site exists to do.

Good accessibility also makes the site better for everyone. Clear headings, readable text, strong contrast and simple forms help every visitor find what they need faster.

What this statement covers

This statement covers every page on nathanvaknin.com, including the home page, the guidance pages, the resources library and every article, the contact page and these policy pages. It does not cover outside websites that the site links to, or outside services such as the scheduling tool, which are responsible for their own accessibility.

The standard this site aims for

The website aims to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 at level AA. These guidelines, published by the World Wide Web Consortium, are the internationally recognized benchmark for accessible websites. They are organized around four principles: content should be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.

The site is designed to conform to level AA, and automated accessibility testing of every page template returns no errors. Automated tools cannot catch every problem, so I also review pages by hand and welcome feedback from people who use the site in different ways.

Accessibility features in place

Here is what has been built into the site so far:

• Clear structure. Every page has a single main heading, and headings follow a logical order, so screen reader users can move through a page by its sections.
• Skip link. The first thing a keyboard user reaches is a link that jumps straight past the navigation to the main content.
• Full keyboard access. Menus, buttons, filters, the contents list on articles and the contact form can all be used with a keyboard alone.
• Visible focus. A clear gold outline shows which element is selected as you move through a page with the keyboard.
• Readable contrast. Text colors have been checked against their backgrounds and adjusted wherever they fell short of the recommended contrast ratios.
• Text alternatives. Meaningful images have descriptive alternative text. Purely decorative elements are hidden from screen readers so they do not add noise.
• Labelled form fields. Every form field has a visible label, required fields are checked before submission, and any error is explained in plain words right next to the field it concerns.
• Descriptive links. Icon only links, such as the social media icons, have accessible names that say where they go.
• Responsive layout. Pages adapt to phones, tablets and desktops, and remain usable when zoomed to 200 percent or when browser text size is increased.
• Reduced motion. Decorative animations stay still until you interact with the page, and they are switched off entirely if your device is set to reduce motion.
• Plain language. The writing aims to be clear and direct, with short paragraphs and without unnecessary jargon.

How new content is written

Every new article and page is expected to follow the same simple rules, so accessibility does not slip as the site grows:

• Use a clear heading structure, with one main heading and sections in a logical order.
• Write link text that makes sense on its own, rather than “click here”.
• Give every meaningful image a short description, and mark decorative images so screen readers skip them.
• Never rely on color alone to carry meaning, for example in charts or instructions.
• Keep sentences and paragraphs short, and explain any specialist term the first time it appears.
• Use real text rather than images of text, so it can be resized and read aloud.

Documents, audio and video

The site currently publishes its content as web pages rather than downloadable documents, which are often harder to make accessible. If audio or video is added in the future, it will include captions, and a written transcript or summary will be provided alongside it. If you ever need a document or recording in a different format, ask and I will provide one.

Design choices that help

Several design decisions were made with accessibility in mind. Body text is set at a comfortable size with generous line spacing. Pages load quickly, even on slower connections, because the site uses very little code. Colors are defined centrally, so a contrast problem can be fixed once and corrected everywhere.

Browsers and assistive technology

The site is built with standard HTML, CSS and a small amount of JavaScript, which keeps it light and compatible. It is designed to work with current versions of major browsers, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge, on desktop and mobile. It is also designed to work with common assistive technologies such as VoiceOver, NVDA, JAWS and TalkBack.

The articles and main information remain readable even if JavaScript is turned off. A few interactive features, such as filtering articles by type and the scheduling window, need JavaScript to work.

Known limitations

I would rather be honest about the gaps than claim the site is perfect. These are the areas I know about:

• Scheduling window. Booking uses Calendly, an outside service. I cannot control how accessible its booking window is. If you find it difficult to use, email me instead and we will arrange a time directly.
• Decorative background text. Some sections include large, faint words as a design element. They are hidden from screen readers, but people with some visual conditions may find them distracting.
• Moving banner. A band of scrolling words appears near the top of several pages once you start to interact with the page. It is decorative and hidden from screen readers, and it does not move at all if your device is set to reduce motion.
• Outside websites. Links to social networks and other sites lead to pages I do not control, which may have their own accessibility issues.

I am working to reduce these limitations over time.

Other ways to reach me

You should never be blocked from asking for help because of how the website works. If any part of the site is hard for you to use, you can:

• Email me directly at hello@nathanvaknin.com with your question or request.
• Ask for any article or page in another format, such as plain text, and I will send it.
• Ask to arrange a conversation by email instead of the scheduling window, or to hold the conversation in the format that works best for you.

Reporting a problem

If you meet a barrier on this website, please tell me at hello@nathanvaknin.com. Your message helps me fix problems that automated tools miss. It helps to include:

1. The address of the page where the problem happened.
2. What you were trying to do, and what went wrong.
3. The device, browser and any assistive technology you were using.

I aim to reply within five business days. Where I can, I will fix the problem or offer another way to get what you need while a fix is on the way. Every accessibility report is taken seriously, and I will let you know what I have done about it.

If you are not satisfied

If you report a problem and are not happy with the response, please write back and say so. I would rather hear that I got something wrong than leave a barrier in place. Where the law gives you further rights to raise an accessibility complaint, nothing on this page limits them.

How the site is checked

Accessibility is checked whenever the website changes. Each page template is tested with automated accessibility tools, reviewed by hand with a keyboard only, and checked for color contrast, heading structure, form labels and image descriptions. Feedback from visitors is used to guide further improvements.

Continuous improvement

As the site grows with new articles and features, each addition is expected to meet the same standard. When accessibility guidance changes, or when better techniques become available, the site will be updated. This statement will be revised whenever something important changes, and the date at the top of the page shows when it was last reviewed.