Accessibility Statement

Accessibility Statement

Last updated: [Date]

Adiveda is committed to making adiveda.in (the “Site”) usable by as many people as possible, regardless of ability, technology, or device. We believe access to spiritual and editorial content is a public good, and the design of our site should reflect that.

1. Standard we aim for

We work to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA, published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). WCAG 2.1 AA is widely recognised as the international standard for accessible web content and is referenced by laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the European Accessibility Act, and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 of India.

Where it is reasonably possible, we go further toward AAA criteria — for example, by maintaining high colour contrast in body text and providing keyboard equivalents for all interactive controls.

2. What we have done

Some of the steps we have taken to make the Site accessible:

  • Semantic HTML. Pages use proper heading hierarchy (h1 → h6), landmark regions (header, nav, main, aside, footer), and meaningful element types so that screen readers can navigate the page structure naturally.
  • Keyboard navigation. All interactive controls — links, buttons, form fields, filter pills, search input, the “Buy on Amazon” button — are reachable and operable with the keyboard alone. Visible focus styles indicate the active element.
  • Alternative text. Every meaningful image carries an alt attribute. Book cover images use the pattern “Cover of [Title] by [Author]”. Decorative images and SVGs are marked aria-hidden="true" so that screen readers do not announce them.
  • Colour and contrast. Body text contrasts at a ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background, and the saffron “Buy on Amazon” button contrasts at a ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its surroundings. We do not rely on colour alone to convey state or information.
  • Resizable text. The Site uses relative units so that text remains legible when zoomed up to 200 % in any modern browser. Layouts reflow on narrow viewports down to 320 px wide.
  • Reduced motion. Hover-lift and similar animations are subtle and respect the user’s prefers-reduced-motion setting where applicable.
  • Lazy-loading images so that the page remains fast on assistive-technology setups and older devices.
  • Structured data. Book pages include schema.org Book markup so that assistive tools and search engines can present them as books, not generic pages.
  • Plain language. Editorial content tries to translate classical Sanskrit / Hindi terminology into plain English without losing the original meaning.
  • Outbound links open in a new tab and are clearly labelled, with rel="nofollow sponsored noopener" on affiliate links so that assistive tools and browsers can identify them correctly.

3. Known limitations

We are honest about places where the Site is not yet where we want it to be:

  • Third-party embeds (video players, payment widgets, booking calendars) are partially outside our control. We choose vendors who treat accessibility seriously, but their components may not always meet AA in every screen-reader / browser combination.
  • Older articles published before our accessibility audit may use legacy markup that we are working to update.
  • PDF downloads (where available) are not always tagged for screen readers. We are gradually replacing or re-publishing them.
  • Hindi and Sanskrit transliterations are presented in standard Roman characters; we do not yet offer audio recordings of mantra pronunciation.

If you encounter an accessibility barrier that is not listed here, please tell us — feedback is the most useful tool we have.

4. Compatibility

The Site is designed to work with the latest stable versions of:

  • Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge.
  • Assistive technologies: JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver (macOS and iOS), TalkBack (Android), and Windows Narrator.

We are not able to test every browser / assistive-technology combination, but if you find a setup that does not work as expected, please let us know and we will investigate.

5. Tell us about a problem

If you encounter a page or feature on adiveda.in that is hard or impossible for you to use, please tell us — we will try to fix it quickly. Please include:

  • The page where you encountered the issue (URL);
  • What you were trying to do;
  • What happened (and, if you can, what assistive technology you were using);
  • Your contact details if you would like a reply.

Email: accessibility@adiveda.in (or your usual contact email)

We aim to acknowledge accessibility reports within two (2) business days and, where the fix is straightforward, to resolve them within fourteen (14) business days. Complex issues may take longer; we will keep you informed of progress.

6. Continuous improvement

Accessibility is not a one-time project but an ongoing commitment. We re-audit the Site at least once a year, and after every significant redesign, against WCAG 2.1 AA. We also keep an eye on the upcoming WCAG 2.2 criteria and will adopt them as we update the Site.

7. Changes

We may update this statement from time to time. The “Last updated” date above tells you when it was last revised.

Thank you for helping us build a more accessible Adiveda.