Accessibility Statement

 

Willowby is for everyone.

Everyone in this world has a unique purpose. When we focus on abilities instead of disabilities, those with special needs can be part of the strongest friendships and influence people in positive ways that others can’t. We are committed to ensuring that our website is accessible to all people. We strive to exceed the best practices and standards issued pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. To keep current, we created a skip button to main link provided to avoid repetitive navigation.  In addition, we include proper labels and error messages for form fields and inputs. Keyboard access is made available for customers using assistive technology. Most importantly, we follow guidelines established by Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Version 2.0, Level AA (WCAG 2.0 AA).

 

Why: The Case for Web Accessibility

The Web must be accessible to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with diverse abilities. Indeed, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognizes access to information and communications technologies, including the Web, as a basic human right.

Accessibility supports social inclusion for people with disabilities as well as others, such as older people, people in rural areas, and people in developing countries.

There is also a strong business case for accessibility. Accessibility overlaps with other best practices such as mobile web design, device independence, multi-modal interaction, usability, design for older users, and search engine optimization (SEO). Case studies show that accessible websites have better search results, reduced maintenance costs, and increased audience reach, among other benefits.

 

Value of Making Accessibility a Priority

By making our website accessible, we are ensuring that all of our potential users, including people with disabilities, have a decent user experience and are able to easily access our information.  By implementing accessibility best practices, we are also improving the usability of the site for all users.