---
title: Accessibility - Scholar Sidekick
description: Our accessibility approach - WCAG 2.1 Level AA conformance target, automated + manual testing, known limitations, and a feedback channel.
doc_version: "1.0"
last_updated: "2026-04-28"
---

# Accessibility Statement

> Our accessibility approach: WCAG 2.1 Level AA conformance target, automated + manual testing with Pa11y, known limitations, and a feedback channel.
> HTML version: https://scholar-sidekick.com/accessibility
> Last updated: 2026-04-28

Scholar Sidekick aims to be usable by as many people as possible across both account-free and optional account-based features, including users with disabilities. Accessibility is treated as an ongoing responsibility rather than a one-time checklist.

## Conformance target

Scholar Sidekick aims to conform to the **Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA**. This is the level referenced by major accessibility frameworks, including the EU Web Accessibility Directive and the European Accessibility Act (EAA), the UK Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018, and US Section 508 (revised). While Scholar Sidekick is a private project rather than a covered public-sector or large-enterprise service, we adopt these standards as the practical bar to design and test against.

Some areas may not yet fully meet every Level AA success criterion; identified gaps are tracked as bugs (see *Known limitations* below).

## Our approach

In practice, this means we focus on:

- Clear, readable text and predictable layouts
- Keyboard-accessible interactions
- Sensible use of semantic HTML and ARIA where appropriate
- Sufficient colour contrast for body text and interactive elements
- Avoiding unnecessary animations or visual distractions

## Testing and review

We use a combination of automated checks and manual review:

- **Pa11y** with the WCAG2AA ruleset is run on every CI build against every public page; reports are reviewed and identified issues are tracked as bugs.
- **eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y** for static accessibility checks at build time
- Sporadic browser developer-tools audits during development
- Manual keyboard-only navigation checks on key user flows

Automated accessibility checks currently focus on the default (light) theme. Screen reader testing is not a regular part of our process today; we treat reports of screen-reader issues as bugs and aim to address them when raised.

## Known limitations

Because Scholar Sidekick is a small, evolving service, there may be areas where accessibility can be improved. Examples may include:

- Third-party content or embedded resources outside our direct control
- Edge cases involving unusual assistive technology combinations

We treat identified issues as bugs and aim to address them when they are discovered.

## Feedback and support

If you encounter any accessibility barriers while using Scholar Sidekick, we want to hear about them.

Please contact us with:

- A description of the issue
- The page or feature involved
- The assistive technology or browser you are using (if relevant)

Email: <accessibility@scholar-sidekick.com>

We take accessibility feedback seriously and will do our best to respond promptly.

## Ongoing improvement

Accessibility work is iterative. As the service evolves, we aim to continue improving accessibility alongside new features and fixes.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](https://scholar-sidekick.com/sitemap.md) for all pages.