Accessibility
I want everyone to be able to use this site. This page explains how accessible it is, what doesn’t work yet, and how to tell me about a problem. You can also change how the site looks, to make it easier for you to use.
Display settings
You can change the theme, text size, spacing, font and motion, to make the site easier for you to use. Your choices are saved in this browser only.
How accessible this site is
This site aims to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 at Level AAA. That’s the highest level, and goes further than the Level AA most sites aim for.
It doesn’t fully meet Level AAA yet, because of the talk videos. The known issues list everything I know of that falls short, and how to get around it.
What I’ve done to make it accessible
- Text has a contrast ratio of at least 7 to 1 against its background, in every theme.
- You can change the theme, text size, spacing, font and motion in the display settings.
- The font is Atkinson Hyperlegible, which is designed to be easy to read.
- Everything works with a keyboard alone, and shows a clear outline around what’s focused.
- Pages fit screens as narrow as 320 pixels without scrolling sideways, so you can zoom in up to 400%.
- Nothing flashes, moves on its own or has a time limit.
- Abbreviations in the text of each page are written out in full the first time they’re used, apart from a few most people know, such as UK. Every abbreviation is listed in the glossary.
- Technical words are explained in the glossary, and the Work and CV pages start with a short summary in plain words.
- Every talk has a full, checked transcript. Where I still have the slides, it describes them too.
- The contact form lets you check your message before you send it, and keeps everything you wrote if something goes wrong.
Known issues
These are the parts of the site I know don’t meet Level AAA yet.
Some talk videos don’t have accurate captions
- Success criterion
- 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded), Level A
- Who it affects
- People who are deaf or hard of hearing, and anyone watching without sound.
- How to get around it
- Each talk’s page has a full transcript of everything that’s said, which I’ve checked.
- What I’m doing about it
- These videos only have YouTube’s automatic captions, or none. I add accurate captions to videos I upload myself, but I can’t change them on other people’s channels.
Some talk videos show things that aren’t described aloud
- Success criteria
- 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded), Level AA
- 1.2.7 Extended Audio Description (Prerecorded), Level AAA
- Who it affects
- People who are blind or have low vision.
- How to get around it
- Where I still have the slides, the talk’s transcript describes them.
- What I’m doing about it
- I describe everything important on screen aloud in new talks. Older videos won’t change.
Talk videos don’t have sign language interpretation
- Success criterion
- 1.2.6 Sign Language (Prerecorded), Level AAA
- Who it affects
- People whose first language is a sign language, such as British Sign Language.
- How to get around it
- Each talk’s page has a full transcript, and captions where the video has them.
- What I’m doing about it
- I don’t plan to add British Sign Language interpretation. It costs more than I can pay for a personal site. Instead, every talk has a full transcript, and I add captions to the videos I upload myself. If you need a talk in British Sign Language, contact me and I’ll see what I can do.
Content on other sites
Some links go to other sites, such as GitHub and LinkedIn, and YouTube for talk videos. They’re marked with an arrow icon, and screen readers hear “external site”. I can’t control how accessible other sites are.
Talk videos are linked rather than played on this site, so nothing from YouTube loads here. Every talk has a transcript on this site instead.
How I test this site
Every page and component is checked automatically with axe, an accessibility testing tool, each time the site changes. Pages are checked in the browser engines behind Chrome, Firefox and Safari, on wide and narrow screens, and with the largest text and widest spacing in the display settings.
Automated tools only find some problems, so I’m also testing the site by hand with screen readers and other assistive technology. I’ll list what I’ve used here.
This statement was last checked on .
Report a problem
If something on this site doesn’t work for you, or you need something in a different format, please tell me using the contact form. I’ll reply by email.
It helps to know which page you were on and what you were trying to do. If you’re happy to share it, it also helps to know what you were using, such as your browser or screen reader.