Do Barn2 plugins meet accessibility guidelines?
We aim for all our plugins to meet or exceed accessibility guidelines. While our plugins have already been built to meet accessibility guidelines, we are currently carrying out a project to perform accessibility testing on every plugin and make any changes which are required. This will be complete around the end of 2023 or early 2024.
Once the audit is complete, all Barn2 plugins will meet WCAG 2.1 Level A standards, which is the minimum requirement for a website or piece of software to be generally accepted as accessible.
Our ultimate goal is to meet Level AA standards for all our plugins, which is the level the EU requires for EAA compliance, and ADA compliance in the US for certain types of business. We will make changes to achieve this where it is realistic. There may be some instances where it is not realistic, for example if it would require a drastic usability or functionality change that isn’t practical or even breaks the features of the plugin.
Our testing process involves both automated and manual tools, including checking usability via popular assistive technology like screen readers and zoom tools. We are planning to further improve on this by creating a reusable suite of automated accessibility tests to ensure that future releases of our plugins remain accessible.
Please note that it is ultimately the responsibility of the website owner to ensure that their website, including the output of our plugins, meets the legal requirements for accessibility in your area. This generally involves arranging regular audits of your website by certified accessibility experts. The Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker plugin is an excellent starting point, and Equalize Digital also offer services to fix any accessibility issues that they find with your website. If you discover any accessibility issues with the code of a Barn2 plugin then please send us a support ticket and we will be happy to help.