Accessibility statement

This site is built to be readable and operable without a mouse, without images, and at whatever text size you need. Where it falls short we would rather know than guess.

What we aim for

We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at level AA. That is the standard referenced by the EU web accessibility directive and by the European Accessibility Act. We are a private publisher and are not obliged to publish this statement; we do it because the alternative is not knowing whether the site works.

What is in place

• Semantic structure. One h1 per page and a heading order that does not skip levels, so that a screen reader’s heading list is a usable table of contents.
• A skip link as the first focusable element on every page, which jumps past the navigation straight to the main content.
• Keyboard operability. Every link, button and expandable answer can be reached and operated with the keyboard alone, and the focus outline is deliberately thick and high-contrast rather than removed.
• Real alternative text. Every diagram carries alt text that describes what the diagram shows, not a filename; each also has an internal title and description, and a visible caption that repeats the point in prose. The decorative logo is marked as decorative so it is not announced twice.
• Text that scales. Sizes are relative and the layout reflows to a single column, so browser zoom and enlarged text work without horizontal scrolling.
• Contrast. Body and heading colours are chosen to exceed the 4.5:1 ratio against their backgrounds.
• Reduced motion. The site has no animation, autoplay or carousel. Smooth scrolling is disabled automatically when your system asks for reduced motion.
• No interception. No modal overlay, no newsletter pop-up, no cookie banner, nothing that takes focus away from what you were reading.
• It works without JavaScript. Every page’s content, navigation and links function with scripting switched off. The single script on the site only carries campaign parameters on outbound partner links.
• Readable offline and in print. The site uses system fonts only and loads nothing from another server, so it renders the same on a slow or filtered connection. A print stylesheet drops the navigation and expands link destinations.

Known limitations

We would rather name these than imply perfection.

• Complex diagrams. Our diagrams carry descriptive alt text and a prose caption, but a dense comparison table rendered as a diagram is still harder to consume non-visually than a real HTML table. Where a diagram carries information that exists nowhere else in the text, we consider that a defect and want to hear about it.
• External sites. We link to vendors, laboratories and public bodies. We have no control over the accessibility of those destinations.
• No formal audit. Conformance here is self-assessed against the guidelines. It has not been independently audited, and self-assessment misses things.

Tell us about a barrier

If any part of this site is unusable for you, write to [email protected] with the page address and a description of what went wrong — including the assistive technology and browser, if you know them. We aim to acknowledge within five working days and to fix what we can fix. If you would prefer the content of any page in a different format, ask and we will send it.

Postal address and full publisher details are on the contact page and in the legal notice.