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THEDartmouth Almanac

Accessibility

The Dartmouth Almanac is meant to be usable by everyone in town, including people who use screen readers, magnification, voice control, a keyboard instead of a mouse, or who need more time, less motion, or plainer language.

The standard we build to

We design, build and test against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, Level AA, the standard referenced by the U.S. Department of Justice for the Americans with Disabilities Act and by Massachusetts state policy. In plain terms that means: everything works with a keyboard alone; every image and control has a text name; text can be enlarged to 200% without breaking; colors have enough contrast; nothing flashes; forms explain their errors; and the page structure (headings, landmarks, lists) is real, not visual.

How we test

Every page runs through an automated accessibility checker (axe-core) before each release, at desktop and phone widths. Automated tools catch roughly a third of real problems, so we also test by hand with a keyboard, with VoiceOver on Mac and iPhone and NVDA on Windows, at 200% zoom, and with the system “reduce motion” and “increase contrast” settings on. Every new feature is tested this way before it is public.

Specific things we do

  • A “skip to content” link is the first thing on every page.
  • The interactive map has a text list of the same places beneath it, and each pin is a real button with a name.
  • Event dates and times are written out, not shown only as icons or colors. “Open now” is text, not just green.
  • Photos carry written descriptions. Historical images carry captions and sources.
  • Forms label every field, keep what you typed when something goes wrong, and say what to fix.
  • Nothing moves on its own; animation respects your device’s reduce-motion setting.
  • Business pages have a field for accessibility information (step-free entrance, accessible restroom, parking) that owners are asked to fill in.

Known limitations

This is a pre-launch build. The map base layer comes from a third-party tile service whose street labels are not readable by screen readers; the text list below the map is the equivalent. Documents linked from the Town section are published by the Town of Dartmouth, not by us, and may not be accessible; tell us and we will summarize them in text.

Tell us about a barrier

If anything on this site is hard or impossible for you to use, we want to know and we will fix it or give you the information another way. A contact email and phone number will be published here before launch; until then, use the form on the Add or correct a listing page and begin your message with “Accessibility.” We aim to respond within two business days.

Last reviewed: October 2026. This statement is updated whenever the site changes significantly.