Accessibility

Accessibility Statement

This site is built to be used by everyone, including people who navigate by keyboard, use a screen reader, need larger text, or prefer reduced motion. This page states what that means in practice, what is verified, and what is not yet fixed.

Conformance target

The target is WCAG 2.2 Level AA. The site is substantially conformant. Where it falls short, that is recorded below rather than omitted.

What has been done

• Keyboard access. Every interactive control is reachable and operable by keyboard. A skip link is the first focusable element on each page, and the navigation menu traps focus while open and returns it on close.
• Structure. One h1 per page, headings in order without skipped levels, and landmark regions (header, nav, main, footer) so a screen reader can jump between sections.
• Form labels. Every field in the contact form has a real, visible label associated with its control, not a placeholder standing in for one.
• Decorative graphics are silent. The line armatures, signature flourishes and scroll spine are marked aria-hidden so assistive tech skips them. The signature used as a logo carries a text alternative.
• Reduced motion. With prefers-reduced-motion enabled, the travelling ember, the self-drawing signature and the scroll reveals stop. Content remains fully visible. Motion is never the only way something appears.
• Contrast. Body text is checked against its actual composited background, including text set over photography.
• Target size. Interactive targets meet the WCAG 2.2 24×24px minimum.
• Content without script. If JavaScript fails, sections render visible rather than staying hidden behind an animation that never runs.

Known limitations

Stated plainly, because an accessibility statement that claims perfection is not useful:

• Reader Mode. In a browser's Reader Mode, CSS is stripped and aria-hidden is ignored, so decorative signature artwork can render as a large abstract shape. Explicit dimensions now cap how large it can get, but Reader Mode output is controlled by the browser, not by this site.
• Third-party documents. The downloadable executive résumé is a PDF. Its internal tagging has not been audited to the same standard. If you need the résumé in an accessible format, ask and it will be sent as structured text.
• Video and imagery. Photographs carry alt text. There is no captioned video on the site at present; if video is added, captions will ship with it.

Reporting a barrier

If something on this site blocks you, report it and it will be fixed. Include the page, what you were trying to do, and the assistive technology or browser you were using.

shannon@shannonaallen.com

Accessibility problems are treated as defects, not as feature requests. Reported barriers are acknowledged and given a fix or a timeline.

Assessment method

Self-assessed. Checks covered heading order, landmark structure, accessible names for links and buttons, form label association, contrast against composited backgrounds, keyboard traversal, the reduced-motion path, and rendering with CSS and with JavaScript disabled.

Last reviewed 16 September 2026.