Accessibility

These calculators are meant to be usable by everyone, including people using a screen reader, navigating by keyboard, or working at a large text size on a phone. This page sets out what the site does, what we know is imperfect, and how to tell us if something does not work for you.

What the site does

• Everything works by keyboard. Every calculator, the navigation, the search box and every form can be reached and operated with the Tab and arrow keys. There is a Skip to content link as the first item on every page.
• Focus is always visible. Whatever you are on has a clear amber outline. We have not removed focus styling anywhere.
• Every field has a real label. Not placeholder text pretending to be one — an actual label a screen reader will announce, plus a line of help text where the input needs explaining.
• Results are announced. Calculator results update as you type, in a region marked so assistive technology reads the new value rather than leaving you to hunt for it.
• Structure is marked up properly. Real headings in order, real lists, real tables with header cells, and landmarks for the header, navigation, main content and footer.
• Text scales with your settings. Every size on the site is set relative to your browser's own default, so raising it in your browser settings enlarges the whole site rather than being ignored. Zooming to 200% reflows the page rather than cutting it off.
• It works at phone width. Every page is checked at 390 pixels wide with nothing running off the side. Wide tables scroll inside their own box rather than pushing the page.
• Contrast. Body text and interface colors are chosen to meet the WCAG 2.1 AA contrast ratio against their backgrounds.
• Reduced motion is respected. If your system asks for less motion, transitions and animations are switched off.
• No color-only meaning. Nothing on the site is communicated by color alone.

What we are aiming at

We target the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 at level AA. We test with keyboard navigation and automated checks on every page before it is published, and every text and interface color pair on the site has been measured against the AA contrast ratio rather than assumed to pass. We also check every page at a doubled default font size and at phone width to make sure nothing runs off the screen.

We have not had the site audited by an independent accessibility specialist, and we would rather say so than imply a level of assurance we have not earned. Automated testing catches a great deal but it does not catch everything.

Known gaps

• Third-party advertising is served by an outside network and we do not control its markup. If an ad causes a problem, tell us which page and we will raise it with the network.
• Some calculators produce long tables of reference figures. They are marked up correctly, but a long table is hard work on a screen reader however well it is coded. The same information is in the calculator itself, which is far quicker to use.
• The multi-section area input adds rows as you use it. We believe the announcements are correct, but this is the most complex thing on the site and the most likely to have a rough edge.

Tell us

If something on this site does not work for you, we want to know — and a specific report is far more useful than a general one. The contact page reaches us directly. If you can, tell us the page, what you were trying to do, and what you are using to browse.

We read every message. If something is broken we will fix it, and if a fix is going to take a while we will tell you that rather than leave you waiting.