Accessibility Statement
Gardeners Swiss Cottage Accessibility Statement
Gardeners Swiss Cottage is committed to ensuring that our website and services are accessible and usable for as many people as possible in the local area and beyond. We aim to provide an inclusive online experience so that visitors can access information about our gardening services, facilities, and support in a way that meets their individual needs.
We recognise that accessibility is an ongoing process and not a one-time project. Our goal is to continuously improve our website so that customers in and around the Gardeners Swiss Cottage area, including disabled people, older people, and those using assistive technologies, can navigate and use our content with ease.
Standards and Guidelines
Our intention is for the Gardeners Swiss Cottage website to align with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, known as WCAG 2.1, at the AA level. These guidelines are internationally recognised standards for making web content more accessible for people with a wide range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities.
By working towards WCAG 2.1 AA, we focus on improving areas such as text alternatives for non-text content, adaptable layouts, sufficient colour contrast, clear navigation, predictable functionality, and input assistance.
Screen Reader Compatibility
The Gardeners Swiss Cottage website is designed to support users who rely on screen readers and other assistive technologies. We aim to use clear heading structures, descriptive page titles, meaningful link names, and text alternatives for images so that visitors can understand the content without needing to see the page.
We also strive to ensure that important information is not conveyed by colour alone, and that decorative images do not interfere with screen reader experiences. Where possible, form fields are labelled clearly so that users understand what information is required.
Keyboard Navigation
We want visitors to be able to explore the Gardeners Swiss Cottage website without needing a mouse. Our site is built to support full keyboard navigation, allowing users to move through pages using the Tab, Shift plus Tab, Enter, and arrow keys. Interactive elements such as menus, buttons, and forms are intended to be reachable and operable from the keyboard.
We aim to maintain a logical tab order, use visible focus indicators so users can see where they are on the page, and avoid keyboard traps that would prevent people from moving away from a particular element.
Text, Layout, and Readability
Content on the Gardeners Swiss Cottage website is written in clear language wherever possible. We aim to keep sentences and paragraphs concise, use headings to break up content, and structure information in a way that supports easy scanning.
We support zooming in on content using browser features without losing information or functionality. Our intention is that text remains legible and the layout remains usable at higher zoom levels, which can help users with low vision when accessing information about our gardening services in Swiss Cottage.
Ongoing Improvements
Accessibility is central to how we maintain and develop the Gardeners Swiss Cottage website. We regularly review our pages as content is updated, and we take into account user feedback and evolving best practices to identify areas where accessibility can be strengthened.
Where we identify issues that may affect users with disabilities, we aim to address them as quickly as is reasonably possible, prioritising changes that have the greatest impact on accessibility.
Contact for Accessibility Requests
If you experience any difficulty using the Gardeners Swiss Cottage website, encounter a barrier that prevents you from accessing information, or need content in an alternative format that is more accessible to you, you can contact us to make an accessibility request.
When you contact us, please describe the problem you are facing, tell us which page or content you were trying to use, and, if you wish, let us know which assistive technology, browser, or device you are using. This information will help us understand the issue and work towards a suitable solution or reasonable adjustment.
We take all accessibility feedback seriously and will do our best to respond in a timely manner. Our aim is to ensure that everyone in the Gardeners Swiss Cottage community, including people with disabilities, can access our online information and enjoy our gardening services with confidence.
