Accessibility Statement

Objective

HearthCode Studio strives for hearthcodestudio.com to fully comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA. Accessibility is not an afterthought — it is a design principle considered with every change to the site.

Compliance status

Based on our current self-evaluation, this site conforms to WCAG 2.2 Level AA. The assessment combines automated checks with manual keyboard, zoom, and screen-reader checks. A self-evaluation is a snapshot, not an absolute guarantee that every visitor will encounter no barrier.

What was tested

The review covers both language versions of the homepage, three service pages, three project pages, the ErfPlan guide articles, the privacy policy, this statement, and the not-found page. Representative templates are tested on desktop and mobile. The testing process includes:

Automated checks. axe-core (WCAG 2.2 AA) via Playwright across Dutch and English routes, together with unit tests, type checking, linting, and a production build. Lighthouse is used separately; scores are only stated here when remeasured for this version.

Keyboard navigation.All interactive elements are reachable via Tab. Focus indicators are visible on every element. There are no keyboard traps. A skip link (“Skip to main content”) is the first focusable element on every page.

Screen reader.Full walkthrough with NVDA on Chrome. Landmarks (banner, navigation, main content, contentinfo) are announced correctly. Heading levels follow a logical hierarchy (h1 → h2, no skipped levels). Interactive elements have clear labels. Dutch legal pages use lang="nl" so screen readers apply the correct pronunciation.

Visual checks.Zoom to 500% with no horizontal scrollbar. Colour contrast ratios verified: body text 8.4:1, CTA button text 6.3:1, accent text 7.0:1 — all well above the AA requirement of 4.5:1. The site animation (subtle flame effect) is disabled when the user has the prefers-reduced-motion preference set.

Accessibility design choices

The site is built with semantic HTML, without custom widgets or ARIA overrides. All interactive elements are standard HTML links — the browser provides keyboard functionality. Fonts are self-hosted (no external requests to Google Fonts) and load with font-display: swap so text is immediately visible. There are no cookies, no forms, and no third-party scripts affecting the experience.

Known limitations

There are currently no known blocking accessibility issues. The site contains no forms, accounts, or transactions. External websites linked from this site are outside this self-evaluation. New routes, content, and project media will be included after a change.

Report a problem

Experiencing an accessibility issue on this site? Send an email to info@hearthcodestudio.com. Please describe where the problem occurs and which assistive technology you are using. A response will follow within two working days. If a reported issue cannot be resolved within six weeks, it will be listed here with an explanation and an alternative.

Enforcement

If you are not satisfied with the response to your report, you may file a complaint with the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights.

About this statement

This statement was drawn up on 24 April 2026 and last updated on 13 July 2026, based on a self-assessment using the methods described above. The statement is reviewed annually or immediately upon a major change to the site.