Accessibility at Gardeners Merton Park

Gardeners Merton Park is committed to providing an accessible and inclusive online experience for all visitors, including disabled people, older people, and those using assistive technologies. We want everyone in the Merton Park area and beyond to be able to access information about our gardening services in a way that meets their needs.

Our Accessibility Commitment

We aim for our website to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1, Level AA. These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible to people with a wide range of access needs, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological differences.

By working towards WCAG 2.1 AA, we intend to offer a reliable and usable experience for customers looking for accessible gardeners in the Merton Park area, whether they are browsing on desktop, tablet, or mobile devices.

Support for Screen Readers

Our website is designed to be compatible with modern screen-reader software. We use clear page structures, meaningful headings, and descriptive text to help screen-reader users understand both the layout and content of each page.

Images that convey information include alternative text so that visitors who cannot see the images can still understand their purpose. Decorative images are either avoided or implemented so that they can be skipped by assistive technologies.

Links, buttons, and other controls aim to have descriptive labels to ensure that screen-reader users can easily identify the action they will perform, such as requesting information about gardening services in Merton Park or learning more about seasonal garden maintenance.

Keyboard Navigation

The website for Gardeners Merton Park is designed to be navigable using only a keyboard, without requiring a mouse or touch screen. Keyboard users should be able to move through menus, forms, and all main areas of the site by using the Tab, Shift plus Tab, Enter, and arrow keys.

We aim to maintain a clear visual focus indicator so that visitors can see where they are on the page at all times. This helps many users, including people with mobility impairments or those who prefer keyboard input.

Interactive elements such as navigation menus, contact forms, and service information panels are tested for keyboard accessibility to support users who rely on this method of access.

Content Design and Readability

We write our content in plain, straightforward language to help as many people as possible understand the information about our gardening services in the Merton Park area. Paragraphs are kept relatively short, with descriptive headings to help visitors scan pages quickly.

We aim for sufficient colour contrast between text and backgrounds to support users with low vision or colour vision differences. Where possible, information is not conveyed by colour alone and is accompanied by text labels or clear icons.

Ongoing Improvements

Accessibility is an ongoing process. We regularly review our website to identify potential barriers and make improvements where we can. When new content or features are added, we consider accessibility at each stage of design and development.

While we strive to achieve and maintain WCAG 2.1 AA standards, some older content or third-party elements may not yet fully meet these guidelines. We are working to resolve any issues that are identified.

Feedback and Accessibility Requests

We welcome feedback from all visitors, especially from people who rely on assistive technologies or have specific accessibility needs. Your comments help us make the Gardeners Merton Park website more accessible for everyone in the local community and further afield.

If you find any part of our website difficult to use, if you cannot access information about our gardening services in the Merton Park area, or if you need information in a different format such as large print or simple text, you can contact us using the contact form on our website or by using the contact details provided on our contact page.

Please describe the page you were using, what you were trying to do, and any assistive technology or browser you use. We will review your request and aim to respond as soon as reasonably possible, and where feasible we will provide the information you need in an accessible way.

Accessibility and Local Community

Gardeners Merton Park values inclusion within the local community. By working to keep our website accessible, we aim to make it easier for residents, community groups, and businesses in Merton Park to find and use gardening services that support their outdoor spaces.

We will continue to review feedback, monitor accessibility standards, and update this accessibility statement when we make significant changes to our website or accessibility practices.