Accessibility

Last updated: 2026-06-03

vstdex is built to be usable by everyone, including people who rely on a keyboard, a screen reader, high-contrast modes, or browser zoom. This page describes the standard we target, what we have tested, the known limitations, and how to report a barrier you hit.

Standard we target

We aim to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA. WCAG is the standard that the U.S. Department of Justice and federal courts use to evaluate website accessibility under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Conformance status

We consider the current build to be substantially conformant with WCAG 2.1 Level AA. “Substantially conformant” means we meet the criteria across the catalog, navigation, and account flows to the best of our testing, while acknowledging that ongoing publishing and feature work means occasional issues may slip in before we catch them.

What we have done

• Skip-to-content link on every page so keyboard users can bypass the header and navigation in one keystroke.
• Semantic landmarks — every page uses <header>, <nav>, <main>, and <footer> so assistive tech can jump between regions.
• Visible focus indicators on every interactive element. Keyboard users can always see where they are.
• Heading order that climbs without skipping levels, so screen-reader outlines stay legible.
• Alt text on plugin hero images and on every in-content image. Decorative SVGs are marked aria-hidden so they don't pollute the accessibility tree.
• Labels on every form control — either a wrapping <label> or an explicit aria-label.
• Reduced-motion respect. Animations and theme transitions check prefers-reduced-motion before running.
• Light and dark themes, both designed to meet the WCAG 2.1 AA color-contrast minimum (4.5:1 for body text, 3:1 for large text and UI components).
• Keyboard-only operation for every feature on the catalog — filters, sort, favorites, watchlist, sign-in, profile, admin.

How we tested

We use a combination of automated and manual checks:

• Automated DOM audits on every page on every deploy (heading order, missing alt text, label associations, landmark presence, page title).
• Manual keyboard-only walkthroughs of the catalog, plugin detail, signup, sign-in, and account pages.
• Manual screen-reader spot-checks (VoiceOver on macOS, NVDA on Windows).
• Color-contrast verification of the design tokens.

Known limitations

We're being honest about what's not perfect yet:

• Catalog filter sidebar. The collapsible group headers are accessible, but the bulk-select “check all types in this group” control could communicate its state more clearly to assistive tech. On the punch list.
• Price-history sparkline charts. The SVG charts on the plugin detail page expose a count of observations as alt text, but the underlying price points aren't yet readable by a screen reader. The retailer price column next to the chart carries the actionable number.
• Third-party content. Plugin descriptions and key features are extracted from manufacturer pages. We normalize and trim them, but the underlying prose is written by the manufacturer and isn't always optimized for assistive tech.

Report an issue

If you hit a barrier on this site — a keyboard trap, a focus state that vanishes, a control your screen reader can't operate, a color you can't read, anything — please tell us. We treat accessibility bugs as real bugs and fix them with the same priority as functional bugs.

Use our contact form with the subject “Accessibility issue” and please include the URL, what you were trying to do, what happened, and the browser and assistive technology you were using (if any). We aim to acknowledge within 2 business days and to follow up with a fix or a workaround.

If we can't resolve it

If you contact us about an accessibility barrier and you're not satisfied with our response, you have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, or to pursue the remedies available under any applicable state or local law.

Formal statement

Name of the website: vstdex (vstdex.com).
Standard targeted: WCAG 2.1, Level AA.
Date of this statement: 2026-06-03.
Method used to evaluate: combined automated DOM audits and manual keyboard / screen-reader review by the operator.
Contact for accessibility issues: use our contact form.