Our commitment to accessibility

At Help for Heroes, we are dedicated to ensuring digital accessibility for all users, including those with disabilities. We continuously strive to improve the user experience and adhere to evolving accessibility standards. Our goal is to provide content that is accessible, usable, and inclusive for everyone. To date, we have introduced the following updates

  • Text-size selector - allows users to choose a larger font size for improved readability
  • Dark/light mode toggle - empowers users to switch between light and dark themes according to their preference.

This accessibility statement applies to the Help for Heroes website. It does not cover other Charity subdomains such as Recovery College self help guides, Strive or the MyRecovery portal; Shop or Donate platform, which have their own accessibility statements.

How you should be able to use this website

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website.

You should be able to

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings
  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver).

We also make the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible is this website?

This website is generally compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard. However, parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example

  • some pages and document attachments are not written in plain English
  • some documents may have poor colour contrast
  • some heading elements may vary
  • some images do not have alternative descriptions
  • some images used to convey information may have poor colour contrast
  • some information in tables may not be reached with a keyboard
  • documents that are in PDF format have not been made accessible

Reporting problems and your feedback

Your feedback

We value your input in our accessibility journey. If you experience any difficulty or have suggestions for improvement, please contact us

We aim to acknowledge and respond to all accessibility feedback within five business days.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Charity are committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Our digital content is developed following these key standards and practices

  • Accessibility guidelines - WCAG 2.2 (AA/AAA)
  • Assistive technologies supported - we are working to ensure our whole site allows for full access of screen readers: NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver (latest stable versions), Keyboard-only navigation and magnification tools

Compliance status

We are committed to aligning our digital properties with the latest accessibility standards.

  • Current standard - our audited pages are designed to meet WCAG 2.2 AA/AAA criteria
  • Audit scope - partial audit completed by Giant Digital Ltd for key pages on 26 March 2025. A full-site audit is pending
  • Future enhancements - as the accessibility landscape evolves, we are closely monitoring the upcoming WCAG 3.0 guidelines (Bronze, Silver, Gold) and will work diligently to incorporate these enhancements into our digital assets as soon as practicable.

Please note that some third-party content and dynamic features may not yet fully meet these standards. We are continuously working to address these issues.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Despite our efforts, the following areas on audited pages (completed 26 March 2025) require improvement to reach full conformance

General

  • Non‑Text Content (WCAG 1.1.1) - many images and background graphics site‑wide lack appropriate alt text or ARIA titles to describe their content.

Header

  • Skip links and Back to top (WCAG 2.1.1, 2.4.1) - no “Skip to content” or “Back to top” controls to aid keyboard users
  • ARIA state updates (WCAG 4.1.2, 3.2.4) - text size and Dark/Light mode toggles do not dynamically update their ARIA labels or disable the active option
  • New‑tab links (WCAG 3.2.5, 2.4.4) - “Get Help”, “Donate” and “Shop” buttons open in new tabs without warning
  • Search control (WCAG 4.1.2, 2.1.1, 2.4.3, 2.4.7) - search button lacks dynamic aria-label, focus is not shifted to the search field, focus order is inconsistent, and no visible focus indicator on toggles
  • Dropdown navigation (WCAG 2.1.1) - main menu dropdowns cannot be fully operated via keyboard.

    Footer

    • Link purpose and new‑tab behaviour (WCAG 2.4.4, 3.2.5) - social icons and “Site by Giant Digital” open in new tabs without indication; link texts are not descriptive
    • Non‑text content (WCAG 1.1.1) - partner logos lack meaningful alt text (or are not marked decorative).

    Homepage

    • Video focus (WCAG 2.1.1) - hero video is focusable despite being non‑interactive
    • Donation module (WCAG 2.1.1, 4.1.2, 2.4.7) - amount selectors only support arrow navigation; custom‑amount input does not expose its state to screen readers; focus indicators on checkboxes and the donate button are missing
    • Stories Carousel (WCAG 4.1.3) - auto‑advancing carousel lacks aria‑live announcements
    • Shopify iframe (WCAG 4.1.2, 1.4.3) - iframe lacks title; text contrast is insufficient; form fields use confusing IDs
    • Card plugins (WCAG 2.4.4) - “Read this article” links are generic, providing no context.

    Give support

    • Plugin link naming (WCAG 2.4.4) - share‑this‑page links on all pages lack discernible names
    • New‑tab links (WCAG 3.2.5, 2.4.4) - various donate and partner links open in new tabs without notice.

    Ways to fundraise

    • Gallery modal (WCAG 2.4.3, 2.1.1) - no focus trap in modals; images are not keyboard‑focusable; images lack specific aria-labels.

    Fundraising events

    • Contrast (WCAG 1.4.3) - search input placeholder in dark/light mode fails contrast
    • Info relationships (WCAG 1.3.1) - category checkboxes are not properly labelled
    • Pagination (WCAG 2.4.4) - page links lack descriptive labels (e.g., “Go to page 2”).

    Partner with us

    • Name, Role, Value (WCAG 4.1.2) - form fields share duplicate IDs, hindering screen reader users.

    Heroes lottery

    • Change on request (WCAG 3.2.5) - “Enter now” link opens a new tab without warning.

    Get help

    • Headings (WCAG 2.4.6) - heading levels are not in sequential order (e.g., H4 appears before H2)
    • Landmark navigation (WCAG 2.4.1) - anchor‑bar plugin lacks a role or label
    • Link purpose and focus visible (WCAG 2.4.4, 2.4.7) - anchor‑bar links have unclear texts and no visible focus indicators
    • Telephone links - use of callto: URL instead of tel:, which is non‑standard.

    Our impact

    • Contrast (WCAG 1.4.3, 1.4.6) - text shadows on secondary links reduce readability, especially in dark mode
    • PDF embed (WCAG 1.1.1, 4.1.2) - embedded reports lack alternative descriptions, appropriate object fallback content, and focusable download links; download links also open in new tabs without notice (WCAG 3.2.5, 2.4.7).

    Please note

    Some documents are in non-HTML formats, for example PDF. They are not accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure.

    Disproportionate burden

    We recognise that achieving full conformance may impose a disproportionate burden in some cases (e.g., legacy PDF reports on the Reports page). Future documentation and assets will be created to meet the highest accessibility standards, but existing legacy files may remain until they are scheduled for update. We regularly review these instances to ensure any burdens remain reasonable.

    Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

    The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.

    What we’re doing to improve accessibility

    Our process and future plans

    Where possible, we aim to fix content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, and includes

    • Ongoing audits - we perform regular accessibility audits, both automated (axe-core) and manual expert reviews, supplemented by specialist user testing with assistive technology users
    • Training and development - continuous accessibility training for our product, design, and engineering teams to embed inclusive practices
    • Remediation roadmap - a detailed schedule guides our fixes, with short-term (by August 2025) and medium-term (by December 2025) target dates, and a full-site audit thereafter
    • Future standards - we will adopt WCAG 3.0 guidelines as they are released and update this statement accordingly.

    Preparation of this accessibility statement

    This statement was prepared on 5 May 2025.

    This website was last tested in April 2025 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.

    We also used findings from our own testing when preparing this accessibility statement.

    Last updated 5 May 2025

    Legal disclaimer

    The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’).

    If you’re not happy with how we respond to your enquiry, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

    While we are committed to making our website accessible, some content provided by third parties or legacy files may not fully conform to WCAG 2.2 or future WCAG 3.0

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