Overview
We strive for maximum accessibility in our product design and take defects in it seriously.
‘508 Compliance’ refers to a US law that requires that US government websites to be accessible to persons with disabilities (e.g. visual or physical impairment). Accessibility means, among many other things, that a person must be able to use the website with software that reads the website aloud and/or using only a keyboard. Many private companies use the 508 guidelines to ensure websites are accessible.
We believe Vanilla Forums to be both Section 508 and WCAG AA compliant.
Key points
- Our default UI is primarily text-based and high-contrast.
- Our interface is keyboard-friendly.
- We limit the use of colors, images, and symbols as navigation aids or primary content.
- We use modern HTML5 markup and accessible forms.
- We cannot control the accessibility of user generated content within a forum.
If you find an area where Vanilla could improve its accessibility, please contact support or file an issue.
Theming consideration
Most Vanilla Forums customize their theme, which can have a huge impact on accessibility.
Choices of color and font size are obvious considerations, but because our powerful theming engine also allows for the override of HTML markup, it’s important to consider that individual sites may vary wildly in their degree of accessibility.
Conversely, themes can also augment the interface to improve Vanilla’s core accessibility.
Further reading