Accessibility Statement

Our Commitment

GMapsScout is committed to ensuring that gmapsscout.com is accessible to people with disabilities. We aim to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, which are the internationally recognised standard for web accessibility and the standard adopted by the U.S. Department of Justice under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III and by the European Accessibility Act (EAA).

Conformance Status

Technical Specifications

GMapsScout relies on the following technologies for conformance:

• HTML5 (semantic markup)
• CSS3 / Tailwind CSS
• WAI-ARIA 1.2 (for interactive widgets)
• Next.js 14 (React-based rendering with server-side HTML generation)

What We Have Done

• Skip navigation link — a “Skip to main content” link appears at the top of every page when focused via keyboard, allowing users to bypass repeated navigation.
• Language attribute — all pages declare lang="en" on the HTML element so screen readers use correct pronunciation.
• Keyboard navigation — all interactive elements (navigation, buttons, links, forms) are operable via keyboard. Tab order follows visual reading order.
• Visible focus indicators — all focusable elements display a 3px blue focus ring when navigated by keyboard (WCAG 2.4.7 — Focus Visible).
• ARIA landmarks — pages use semantic HTML elements (<nav>, <main>, <footer>, <header>) and ARIA labels so screen reader users can navigate by landmark.
• ARIA for interactive widgets — the mobile navigation menu and custom checkbox on the download page include aria-expanded, aria-controls, role="checkbox", and aria-checked attributes. Keyboard activation (Space / Enter) is supported.
• Color contrast — primary text uses a contrast ratio exceeding 4.5:1 against backgrounds. Blue (#2563eb) on white achieves approximately 5.5:1 (passes AA for normal text).
• Image alt text — all meaningful images include descriptive alternative text. Decorative SVG illustrations are marked aria-hidden="true" where appropriate.
• Descriptive link text — links are written to be descriptive out of context (e.g., “View Full Tutorial” rather than “click here”).
• No auto-play media — no video or audio plays automatically.
• Semantic heading structure — pages follow a logical heading hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3) without skipping levels.
• No cookie consent barriers — we use privacy-first, cookieless analytics. No consent pop-up blocks content access.

Known Limitations

Despite our efforts, some areas are not yet fully conformant:

Chrome Extension Accessibility

The GmapsScout Chrome extension shares our commitment to accessibility and targets the same WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard. As of this writing, the extension has been hardened for keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, and color contrast, but the following extension-specific limitations are known and tracked:

Known limitations in the extension popup and sidebar:

These limitations are tracked in our development backlog and will be addressed in upcoming releases. If you encounter any accessibility barrier in the extension, please contact us at scout@gmapsscout.com with subject line “Accessibility Issue — Extension” and include your screen reader / keyboard setup, the action you were attempting, and the page or panel where the barrier occurred. We aim to respond within 5 business days.

Assessment Approach

GMapsScout assesses accessibility by:

• Self-evaluation against WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria;
• Automated testing using browser-based tools (Lighthouse, axe DevTools);
• Keyboard-only navigation testing across Chrome;
• Screen reader testing with NVDA on Windows and VoiceOver on macOS.

We have not yet engaged a third-party accessibility audit. We plan to commission an independent WCAG audit as our user base grows.

Feedback & Contact

We welcome feedback on the accessibility of gmapsscout.com. If you experience any barriers, or if a page does not meet WCAG 2.1 AA, please let us know:

Formal Complaints

If you are not satisfied with our response to an accessibility concern, you may contact the following bodies depending on your location:

• United States: The U.S. Department of Justice (ADA Title III) at ada.gov ↗
• European Union: Your national market surveillance authority under the European Accessibility Act (EAA, Directive 2019/882), enforceable from June 28, 2025.
• United Kingdom: The Equality and Human Rights Commission at equalityhumanrights.com ↗