Accessibility Statement

Gentle Space is built for people who may be reading on a phone at 3am with one hand while holding a baby. Accessibility is not a bolt-on: it shapes every design decision.

Our commitment

We aim to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA across the site. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Minimum 4.5:1 contrast for body text; 3:1 for large text and interactive elements
• Tap targets of 48×48 pixels or larger on mobile
• Keyboard navigation for every interactive element, with a visible focus ring
• Screen reader labels on all icons, buttons, and form fields
• Respect for prefers-reduced-motion: no looping animations, no autoplay, nothing that flashes
• A dark mode that is genuinely dark, for reading in low light without eye strain
• Light and dark themes designed to be warm, not clinical

Known limitations

We are actively tracking the following:

• Third-party embeds (YouTube video players) follow their own accessibility standards. We choose vendors with strong accessibility records, but we do not control the embedded code itself.
• Long-form articles include occasional illustrations. Every illustration has alt text. If we have missed any, please let us know.

Contact us about access

If you hit a barrier using Gentle Space (an element you cannot reach with a keyboard, text you cannot read, a form that will not submit with your assistive technology), please email clare@gentlespace.net. We will respond within five working days, and either fix the issue or tell you when we can.

How we test

• Automated checks on every deploy (Lighthouse, axe-core)
• Manual keyboard-only navigation pass before major releases
• Screen reader pass with VoiceOver (iOS and macOS) on core flows
• Colour-contrast pass against design tokens, not sampled pixels

Enforcement

If you are not satisfied with how we have responded to an accessibility complaint, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) at equalityadvisoryservice.com.