Accessibility Statement

Our Commitment

ELLVERIS is committed to ensuring that our platform is accessible to the widest possible audience — including people who use assistive technologies, have visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive disabilities, or who access the web via non-standard methods.

We believe that access to high-quality, evidence-based science is a right — not a privilege — and that belief extends to how this platform is built. Accessibility is not an afterthought. It is part of our design standards.

This statement describes the current state of accessibility on the ELLVERIS platform, what we are actively working to improve, and how to report issues or request assistance.

What We Have Done

The following accessibility features have been implemented across the ELLVERIS platform:

• Skip navigation link on all pages, allowing keyboard users to bypass repeated navigation
• Semantic HTML5 landmarks: nav, main, footer, section, article, aside used throughout
• ARIA roles and labels on interactive components (navigation, forms, dialogs, tab panels)
• All form inputs have associated <label> elements; screen reader-only labels used where visual labels are omitted
• Focus-visible styles on all interactive elements (2px gold outline, 3px offset)
• Mobile navigation dialogue uses role="dialog", aria-modal="true", and focus management
• Journal filter bar uses correct role="tablist" and aria-selected pattern
• Decorative images marked aria-hidden="true"; functional images have descriptive alt text
• ELLRIS mockup diagram marked role="img" with accessible label describing content
• Colour contrast ratios target WCAG 2.1 AA (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text)
• Custom cursor disabled for users without a fine pointer (pointer coarse devices)
• No content that flashes more than three times per second
• All pages have descriptive <title> elements and lang="en" attribute
• Smooth scroll respects the prefers-reduced-motion query via CSS (scroll-behavior declared without override)
• Spam protection fields hidden with tabindex="-1" and aria-hidden="true"

In Progress

The following accessibility improvements are currently in development or scheduled for the near term:

• Full keyboard trap management for the mobile navigation overlay (focus loop within modal)
• ARIA live region announcements for form submission success and error states
• Enhanced alt text review for all editorial images across the Journal section
• Automated accessibility testing integrated into the development workflow (axe-core)
• Explicit prefers-reduced-motion media query applied to all JavaScript-driven animations (scroll reveal, hero crossfade, ELLRIS cycle diagram draw)
• Caption tracks for any future video content
• Explicit heading hierarchy audit across all inner pages

Standards We Follow

ELLVERIS targets compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, as published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

We also aim to follow the WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices Guide for interactive widget patterns, and the Inclusive Design Principles developed by the Paciello Group.

Full WCAG 2.1 AA conformance has not been independently audited at this stage. We are working toward that standard progressively as the platform matures.

Testing Methodology

The following testing approaches are used during ELLVERIS development:

• Manual keyboard navigation testing on all interactive components and pages
• Screen reader testing using VoiceOver (macOS/iOS) on primary page templates
• Colour contrast verification using the WebAIM Contrast Checker
• Structural review using browser accessibility trees (Chrome DevTools, Firefox Accessibility Inspector)
• Focus order verification on forms, navigation, and interactive sections
• Viewport testing at 200% and 400% zoom levels for content reflow

We have not yet engaged an independent third-party accessibility auditor. This is on our roadmap as the platform reaches a more stable feature state.

Known Issues

We are aware of the following limitations at the time of publication of this statement:

• The mobile navigation overlay does not currently implement a complete focus trap. Keyboard users can tab outside the modal. This is in active development.
• The ELLRIS hormonal cycle SVG diagram in the hero section is marked as decorative. A text alternative describing the diagram content is present but may not be sufficient for all screen reader users.
• Some older inner pages (About, The Series) may have inconsistent heading hierarchies inherited from a prior design system. These are being reviewed.

If you encounter an issue not listed here, please report it using the contact information below.

Enforcement & Feedback

ELLVERIS is a small, independently-operated platform. We do not have a dedicated accessibility officer. Accessibility decisions are the responsibility of the founding team and are taken seriously as a core editorial and design commitment.

If you experience a barrier on our platform that prevents you from accessing content, please contact us. We will:

• Acknowledge your report within 5 working days
• Investigate and aim to provide a response or resolution within 20 working days
• Provide the content you need in an accessible format on request while we work on a longer-term fix

We welcome all accessibility feedback — corrections, suggestions, and reports of barriers we have not yet identified.

Contact