Accessibility
OpenGloucester is built to be usable by everyone, including people who use screen readers, keyboards, magnification, or voice control.
Standard
The site aims to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (opens in new tab) at Level AA. This includes WCAG 2.1 Level AA, the standard that the U.S. Department of Justice's 2024 ADA Title II rule sets for state and local government websites.
What the site does
- Pages use headings, landmarks, and lists so screen readers can navigate them.
- Every feature works with a keyboard. A "Skip to main content" link is the first item on every page.
- Text and controls meet WCAG contrast ratios in both light and dark mode.
- Text can be enlarged to 200% and pages fit a narrow phone screen without scrolling sideways.
- Color is never the only way information is shown.
- Animation is reduced when your device asks for reduced motion.
- Every chart has a data table with the same figures, and every map has a list of the same locations.
- Pages work without JavaScript wherever possible.
How it is tested
Every update to the site runs automated accessibility checks (axe-core) against each page, in light and dark mode and at desktop and phone widths. An update that fails these checks is not published. Automated tools catch only some problems, so pages are also checked by hand with a keyboard and a screen reader when new sections are added.
Known limitations
- Agendas, minutes, and other documents linked from this site are published by the city as PDFs. Most meeting agendas are scanned images, which screen readers cannot read. OpenGloucester cannot change the city's documents; each meeting page says when an agenda is a scanned image. Where this site summarizes a document, the summary is provided as regular text.
Report a problem
If something on this site is hard to use, open an issue on the project's public issue tracker (opens in new tab). Please include the page address and a description of the problem. If you need information from the site in another format, ask and it will be provided.
This statement was last reviewed on .