Accessibility

This statement was created on 29 November 2024.

Squarespace platform and testing

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. Leanna Manning is conformant with WCAG 2.1 level AA, as much as possible within the limitations of Squarespace.

We tested with VoiceOver and Voice Control on Safari with an iMac, keyboard only navigation, cross browser design (Firefox and Opera), as well as TalkBack on Google Chrome (Android). Automated testing was done with the Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (WAVE), which only produced contrast errors that were manually checked and passed. The errors only came up because of Squarespace’s background overlay system.

Design process

The site layout was created by disabled designer, Jessica Oddi. Community-based accessibility practices were applied, such as large text, spacious layouts, alt text (as well as image descriptions), and transparency. We've had to combat inaccessibility issues found in Squarespace, which included:

  • CSS to add hover/active states to interactive elements.

  • CSS to fix styling of the header menu drop-downs and mobile menu layout.

  • JavaScript to add navigation labels to the footer menu, and “aria-hidden” on duplicates for the land acknowledgement pronunciations.

  • Replacing the footer social media widget with links for correct labels.

  • JavaScript to add "aria-hidden" for section dividers, shapes, separator lines, and any images that had an alt text value of "decorative".

  • Ensuring layer order is correct on the new grid sections and overlapping backgrounds.

Community and feedback

We would love to get your feedback on the accessibility of this website! To flag an issue, or leave some love, please contact Leanna in the following ways: