Accessibility statement

Our target standard

We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 at level AA across this site. That includes this preview, which we are actively building towards that standard rather than treating accessibility as an afterthought.

Our cognitive accessibility standard

Mortgage preparation is stressful, and plenty of people arrive tired, rushed or worried. Alongside WCAG 2.2 AA we build to our own plain-English standard, applied to ordinary pages and tools rather than kept in a separate section. We do not ask about, record or infer anything about your health, disability or the way you think, and nothing here is personalised on that basis.

• Plain English first

  Short sentences, everyday words, and jargon explained the first time it appears.

  Today: Guides use short sections, and mortgage terms link to the glossary rather than assuming knowledge.

• Short, scannable sections

  Nothing important is buried in a wall of text; headings describe what follows.

  Today: Content is chunked under descriptive headings with lists for anything sequential.

• One explicit next action

  Every page says what a reader could sensibly do next, without pressure to do it now.

  Today: Pages and tool results end with a clear 'what to do next' block rather than a hard sell.

• No shame or failure language

  Being unprepared is normal. Nothing calls a reader behind, failing, risky or unqualified.

  Today: Tool results describe preparation areas to look at, never a pass, fail, score or verdict.

• No artificial urgency

  No countdowns, fake scarcity, streaks or nudges designed to rush a financial decision.

  Today: There are no timers, no scarcity claims and no gamified progress penalties anywhere on the site.

• Predictable navigation

  The same navigation, in the same place, on every page.

  Today: One shared header, footer and breadcrumb pattern; links behave consistently sitewide.

• Clear progress and state

  In any multi-step task you can always see where you are and how much is left.

  Today: The readiness checker shows step counts, a labelled progress bar and an announced step change.

• Pause and return

  You can stop part-way through and pick up later without starting again.

  Today: Checker answers are saved in your own browser only, with a visible way to clear them. Nothing is sent to us.

• Printable and offline-friendly

  Core preparation information works on paper for anyone who prefers to work away from a screen.

  Today: Guides, checklists and tool results have print styles that drop navigation and interface chrome.

• Descriptive labels and instructions

  Every field says what it is for before you type, not after you get it wrong.

  Today: Form fields carry visible labels, required/optional marking and purpose text.

• Errors that explain the fix

  An error says what happened and exactly how to put it right.

  Today: Validation messages name the field and the correction, and are linked from an error summary.

• Keyboard operable with visible focus

  Everything works without a mouse and you can always see where you are.

  Today: Native interactive elements throughout, a sitewide visible focus outline and a skip link.

• Respect reduced motion

  Animation never gets in the way, and is effectively removed if your device asks for less of it.

  Today: A prefers-reduced-motion rule reduces transitions and animation to near zero.

• Screen-reader semantics

  Structure is real structure, so assistive technology can navigate it.

  Today: Semantic landmarks, one h1 per page, grouped form fieldsets and live regions for status changes.

• Never colour alone

  Status is always readable as words, not only as a colour.

  Today: Callouts and badges carry a text label and an icon alongside any colour.

Things we will not do

These patterns are ruled out by the same standard:

• Collecting or inferring health, mental-health, disability or neurodivergence information
• Personalising content based on any assumed condition or vulnerability
• Pseudo-clinical labels, quizzes or language that resembles a diagnosis
• Mortgage-readiness 'scores' that could be mistaken for an eligibility or approval assessment
• Countdowns, scarcity claims, streaks or other manufactured urgency
• Shame, blame or failure framing when a reader has not prepared something yet
• Marketing that leans on distress, fear or a recent decline, bereavement or separation

What we have done so far

• Semantic HTML structure with one heading level 1 per page and a logical heading order
• A visible 'skip to main content' link on every page
• Keyboard support for navigation, forms and interactive components, without keyboard traps
• Visible focus indicators on all interactive elements
• Text alternatives for meaningful icons and images; decorative icons are hidden from assistive technology
• Minimum 44 by 44 pixel touch targets for buttons and links
• Colour is never used as the only way to convey meaning; status badges and callouts carry text labels
• Print styles for guides and checklists, so they work as paper documents
• No autoplaying media and no animation-heavy interfaces

Known limitations

We would rather list what we know is incomplete than imply the job is finished.

• This statement has not yet been independently tested against WCAG 2.2 AA by an accessibility specialist
• Some third-party embedded components may not fully match our own standards until reviewed individually
• Long-form guides have not all been checked with a screen reader in every combination of browser and assistive technology
• PDF downloads described in the resources section are still in production and their accessibility has not yet been assessed

Reporting a barrier

If you find something on this site that you cannot access, or that is harder to use than it should be, please tell us through the contact page, choosing the accessibility or technical enquiry option. Please describe the page, the device or assistive technology you were using, and what happened. We treat every report seriously and use it to prioritise fixes.