Accessibility statement

This statement says what we are aiming at, what we have actually done, and, more usefully, what we know is still wrong. A statement that only lists the good bits is worth nothing.

The standard we are working to

We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2, Level AA. That is the standard UK public bodies are held to, and while we are a private publisher we see no reason to aim lower.

We are not there yet. The known gaps are listed below, honestly, rather than buried.

What is in place

• A skip link to the main content as the first thing you reach with the keyboard.
• One h1 per page, with headings in order, so a screen reader can be used to navigate rather than just to read.
• Landmark regions for the header, navigation, main content and footer.
• A visible focus outline on every interactive element, in a colour tested against its background.
• Body text set in a readable size with generous line height, and layouts that reflow to 320px without horizontal scrolling.
• Colour contrast at 4.5:1 or better for body text, and colour is never the only way information is conveyed.
• Text can be resized to 200% without loss of content.
• Animation is suppressed for anyone whose system asks for reduced motion.
• Advertising slots have a fixed reserved height, so the page does not jump under your cursor as they load. No interstitials, no pop-ups over the article, no auto-playing sound.
• Light and dark themes, both contrast-checked.
• Images that carry meaning have alternative text; decorative images are hidden from assistive technology.

Known gaps

These are the things we know about. Any of them could be blocking someone today.

• No independent audit. This statement is based on our own testing. Nobody outside the team has assessed the site, and self-assessment misses things.
• No testing with disabled users. We have tested with a keyboard and with screen reader software; we have not sat with people who rely on it daily, which is the test that actually counts.
• The shop pages are not yet assessed. Basket, checkout and account pages come from WooCommerce and have not been reviewed against WCAG 2.2 AA. Error messages, required-field marking, and the way validation errors are announced are the likely problems. This is the biggest gap on the list, because it sits on the path to buying something.
• Third-party content. Once advertising partners are live, the markup inside an ad frame is theirs, not ours. We can control where it sits, that it is labelled, and that it does not move the page; we cannot control its contrast or its focus order.
• Payment provider screens. Parts of checkout will be rendered by the payment provider and are outside our code.
• Older articles. Alternative text and heading order have been checked across the current set, but tables and any embedded media in future articles need checking case by case.
• No accessibility conformance report. There is no formal WCAG 2.2 AA audit trail.

Tell us if something blocks you

If any part of this site stops you doing what you came to do, tell us. You do not need to know why it is broken or what the guideline is called. “I cannot get past the delivery form with a keyboard” is a perfect report.

• Email: risewell.men@gmail.com
• Or use any route on our contact page.

It helps if you can tell us the page, what you were trying to do, and what you are using: browser, and any assistive technology. We aim to acknowledge within two working days and to tell you what we are going to do about it and roughly when.

If you need something from this site in a different format (large print, plain text, or read to you over the phone), ask, and we will find a way.

Where you stand legally

Under the Equality Act 2010 a service provider must make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people are not put at a substantial disadvantage. That duty applies to this website. If you think we have failed it and we have not fixed it after you told us, the Equality Advisory and Support Service can advise you at equalityadvisoryservice.com.

The Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 do not apply to us; we are not a public body.

How this statement is kept honest

We review it whenever the site changes materially, and at least once a year. When we fix something on the gap list we take it off the list, and when we find something new it goes on. If the list ever gets shorter without anything being fixed, that is a failure of this page, not an achievement.

Prepared: 25 August 2026 Based on our own testing; no independent audit has been carried out.