Accessibility statement

Almanac should be usable by everyone who needs it, including people who navigate by keyboard, use a screen reader, need larger text, or are sensitive to motion. We aim to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA across the public site and the application.

This statement describes where we actually are — not where we would like to be. It covers theindustryalmanac.com and app.theindustryalmanac.com.

• Keyboard access. Every interactive element is reachable by keyboard and shows a clearly visible focus outline. We do not suppress focus rings.
• Skip link. A “skip to content” link is the first stop on every public page, so keyboard users can bypass the navigation.
• Reduced motion. If your system asks for reduced motion, animations and smooth scrolling are switched off rather than merely shortened.
• Light and dark themes. Both are measured against contrast targets rather than one being an afterthought, and the application remembers your choice.
• Structure. Pages use real headings, lists, and landmarks in a logical order, so screen-reader navigation by heading works.
• Zoom and reflow. Layouts are fluid and usable down to a narrow phone width and when text is enlarged.
• No motion traps. Nothing auto-plays, auto-advances, or flashes.

On 30 July 2026 the three public pages — this one, the privacy policy, and the homepage — were audited with Lighthouse on both desktop and mobile. All three score 100 on the automated accessibility checks, with no failing audits.

That audit found and we fixed: seventeen elements whose text failed the 4.5:1 contrast minimum, and a missing main landmark on the homepage. Keyboard order was checked by hand — the skip link is the first stop, and the header, main, and footer expose proper landmarks.

We also audited the design system itself rather than only the pages built from it. Every color token was measured against every surface it can appear on, in both themes. Nine text and status colors fell below 4.5:1 and were corrected, and the keyboard focus outline was strengthened to clear the 3:1 minimum for focus indicators. Because these are shared tokens, that fix applies to every screen in the application at once, not just the pages we audited.

We are being careful with these numbers. Automated tools catch only part of what matters; a perfect score is evidence of a floor, not proof of conformance.

We would rather name these than let you discover them:

• No independent audit yet. Our conformance claim rests on automated testing and internal review, not a third-party assessment. We have not been formally certified against WCAG.
• Screen-by-screen review of the application is incomplete. Our color tokens now meet the minimum everywhere, which raises the floor across every screen at once — but compliant tokens do not guarantee that every individual composition passes. Text placed over images, one-off opacities, and custom components can still fall short, and we have not walked every screen in the application yet.
• Dense data screens. The compliance dashboard, calendar, and record tables carry a lot of information. Screen-reader labeling and keyboard ordering in these areas have had less scrutiny than the simpler pages.
• Color as a signal. Deadline urgency is shown with color alongside text. We are working to ensure the text alone always carries the meaning.
• Uploaded documents. Files you upload — often scanned PDFs from state agencies — are outside our control and are frequently not accessible. We cannot fix the source documents, but we can help you get the information another way.
• Testing coverage. We test with keyboard navigation, Lighthouse, and browser tooling. We have not yet tested systematically with every major screen reader.

If any part of Almanac is difficult or impossible for you to use, please write to rawn@theindustryalmanac.com with the page and what went wrong. We treat accessibility reports as bugs, not feature requests.

We aim to acknowledge reports within five working days and to tell you what we are going to do about it and when. If a fix will take time, we will offer another way to get the information you need in the meantime.

We review this statement when we ship significant interface changes, and we update the known-shortcomings list as issues are found or fixed. It is meant to stay accurate rather than flattering.