Our Commitment to Accessibility

The Emerald Chronicle is dedicated to providing an inclusive and accessible digital experience for all our readers. We believe that everyone should be able to access and engage with news and information, regardless of their abilities or the assistive technologies they use. Our commitment to accessibility is an ongoing process, and we continuously strive to meet and exceed recognized accessibility standards.

Key Accessibility Features

We have implemented several features to ensure our website is usable by everyone:

  • Keyboard Navigation: All interactive elements, including links, buttons, and form fields, are fully navigable using a keyboard alone. Focus indicators are clearly visible to help users track their position on the page.
  • Screen Reader Compatibility: We use semantic HTML and ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) attributes to provide descriptive information to screen readers. This ensures that users who rely on screen readers can understand the content and navigate the site effectively.
  • Perceivable Information: Content is presented in ways that can be perceived by users, including providing text alternatives for non-text content like images.
  • Operable Interfaces: Users can navigate and interact with our website without encountering barriers. We avoid content that could cause seizures and provide mechanisms for users to find content and determine where they are.
  • Understandable Content: Our content is written in clear, concise language. Navigation and interactive elements are predictable and consistent.
  • Robustness: Our website is designed to be compatible with a wide range of user agents, including assistive technologies.

Visual Adjustments and Readability

We understand that visual impairments and cognitive differences can affect how users interact with digital content. To address this, we offer:

Adjustable Text Size: Our website is designed to be responsive, allowing users to adjust text size using their browser settings without losing functionality or content structure.

Color Contrast: We adhere to high contrast ratios to ensure text is easily readable against backgrounds, benefiting users with low vision or color blindness.

Clear Layouts: We maintain a clean and uncluttered layout with sufficient spacing to improve readability and reduce cognitive load.

Focus Management: Clear visual cues highlight the element currently in focus, aiding navigation for keyboard users.

Our Adherence to Standards

The Emerald Chronicle is committed to following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at the AA level. These guidelines are an internationally recognized standard for web accessibility, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

WCAG 2.1 AA: We aim to meet all Level A and Level AA success criteria. This includes ensuring our content is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

Ongoing Audits: We regularly conduct internal audits and engage with accessibility experts to identify and address any areas for improvement.

User Feedback: We value user feedback and encourage you to report any accessibility issues you encounter. Your input is crucial in helping us refine our website.

Assistive Technologies

Our website has been tested with various assistive technologies, including:

  • Screen Readers: NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver
  • Screen Magnifiers: ZoomText, browser-based zoom functions
  • Speech Recognition Software: Dragon NaturallySpeaking
  • Keyboard-Only Navigation: Using Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, and Spacebar keys

We strive to ensure a seamless experience for users employing these tools.

Contact Us About Accessibility

We are always looking for ways to improve our accessibility. If you have encountered an accessibility barrier on our website, or if you have suggestions on how we can enhance accessibility, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Your feedback is invaluable in our mission to create a truly inclusive news platform.

You can contact our Accessibility Officer, Ms. Aoife O'Connell, via:

We aim to respond to all accessibility inquiries within 2 business days.

Get in Touch