Accessibility

Last updated 13 September 2026

The standard I build to

WCAG 2.1 Level AA. That's the benchmark most US courts and the Department of Justice point at, and it's what I build client sites to as well — not a premium add-on, just how the work is done.

I say "built to" rather than "compliant", deliberately. Compliance is a claim about every pixel on every page in every browser, and nobody can honestly make it. What I can tell you is exactly what I test and exactly what I found.

What's been tested on this site

• Colour contrast. Every piece of text on every page, measured against the background it actually renders on, at desktop and phone width. All of it meets AA — 4.5:1 for body text, 3:1 for large text and interface elements.
• Keyboard only. Every link, button, form field and the free-review dialog can be reached and operated without a mouse. Focus is visible. The dialog keeps focus inside it, closes on Escape, and hands focus back to whatever opened it.
• Structure. One h1 per page, headings in order, a "skip to content" link first in the tab order, landmarks marked up, and a language set on every page.
• Forms. Every field has a real <label> — not a placeholder pretending to be one — and the purpose of each field is declared so browsers and assistive tech can fill it in for you.
• Without JavaScript. The pages render and the forms submit with JavaScript turned off entirely.
• Images. Every image carries alt text, and the purely decorative ones are hidden from screen readers rather than described pointlessly.
• Motion. If your system is set to reduce motion, the animations stop. Nothing autoplays, nothing makes sound, nothing flashes.
• Phone width. No horizontal scrolling at 390px, and text stays readable when you zoom.
• No interruptions. No cookie banner, no newsletter pop-up, no countdown, nothing to dismiss before you can read the page.

What I haven't tested, and won't pretend I have

• Windows screen readers. I test with VoiceOver on macOS and iOS, with a keyboard, and with browser zoom. I don't have a Windows machine running JAWS or NVDA, so I can't tell you how this site behaves there. If you use one and something breaks, telling me is genuinely useful and I'll treat it as a bug.
• Every browser and version. I test current Chrome, Safari and Firefox. Not everything else.
• Documents sent by email. Contracts and proposals go out as PDFs that haven't been remediated for screen readers. Ask and I'll send you the same content as plain text or a web page.

The free website review

The free review is normally a three-minute screen recording, which is no use to you if you're deaf or hard of hearing — or if you'd simply rather read than watch a video.

Ask and I'll send it written instead. Same findings, same detail, still free, and you don't have to explain why. Just say "written please" in the form or in a reply.

If something doesn't work

Tell me. Email hello@lowcountryweb.co or call or text (843) 816-2004. It helps if you can say what page you were on, what you were trying to do, and what you're using — but send it even if you can't.

I aim to reply within one business day and to fix anything that blocks you as the next thing I do. Like the other response times on this site, that's a target I've set myself rather than a guarantee — but an access barrier goes to the front of the queue, ahead of paid work.

If you're a client

Your site gets built to the same standard, tested the same way, and I'll say so in writing. If something you ask for would work against it — a colour that can't carry text, an image of text instead of text, a video with no captions — I'll tell you, explain why, and offer a version that does the same job. It's your site and your call. I'd just rather you decide knowing.

Changes

If this page changes, the date at the top changes with it.