Accessibility Statement
Kindred Compass is designed to be easier to use for people with low digital confidence, older adults, and people who may find complex websites difficult.
What I’ve built in by design
- Mobile-first design that also works on tablets and computers
- Plain English throughout — no unexplained jargon
- Large, readable text (with A / A+ / A++ controls on every page)
- “Read this page aloud” on every page, using the device’s own voice
- Large buttons and touch targets
- Strong colour contrast, and meaning never carried by colour alone
- Simple, uncluttered layouts with clear headings
- One-step-at-a-time walkthroughs to reduce cognitive load
- Keyboard navigation and a skip-to-content link
- Reduced-motion preferences respected; no unnecessary animation
Make the reading voice even nicer
“Read this page aloud” uses the voices already on your device — and most devices have a much nicer voice available as a free, one-off download. Once it’s installed, Kindred Compass uses it automatically.
- iPhone or iPad: Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → Voices → English (UK) — then download an “Enhanced” or “Premium” voice (Kate, Serena, Jamie and Oliver are lovely).
- Android: Settings → Accessibility → Text-to-speech output → tap the settings symbol next to “Preferred engine” → Install voice data, and choose an English (UK) voice.
This is worth doing once, together with a helper if you like — the difference is like swapping a tinny radio for a warm one.
Prefer your phone’s own reading voice? Here’s how to switch it on.
Accessibility is the default
There is no separate “accessibility mode” — the accessible version is the only version. Controls like text size and read-aloud are visible on every page, not hidden in settings.
Conformance status
This website is partially conformant with WCAG 2.2 level AA. “Partially conformant” means most of it meets the standard, and I’m honest about the parts that don’t yet. I won’t claim full conformance until testing with real assistive technology and real users is complete.
In high-contrast mode, the site is built to the stricter AAA contrast standard (at least 7:1 for text), and tap targets are built larger than the standard requires, because many of the people this site is for have shaky hands or tired eyes.
What doesn’t meet the standard yet
- The welcome video doesn’t yet have checked captions or an audio-described version. The words around it explain what it covers, and nothing in the video is essential — everything it shows is also written on these pages.
- Screen-reader and magnification testing on real devices is still in progress, alongside testing with real users.
How this site has been tested
Last tested on 11 July 2026: automated accessibility checks (axe-core) across every page, including with high contrast and the largest text size switched on; strict accessibility linting on all code; and mathematical contrast checks on every colour pairing in both palettes. Manual testing with screen readers (NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack), magnification, and keyboard-only use follows a written test plan, together with task-based testing with older adults.
Tell me if something is hard
If any part of this site is difficult for you — too small, too fast, confusing, or awkward with your screen reader or magnifier — please tell me at support@kindredcompass.co.uk. I read every message, and real feedback shapes what I fix next. You won’t be a bother — you’ll be helping.