Accessibility

Reading the news should work for everyone

We want Sierra Leone Today to be readable and usable by as many people as possible, whatever device, browser, or assistive technology you use.

Our commitment

We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA. That is the internationally accepted standard, and it covers things like sufficient colour contrast, keyboard navigation, and text alternatives for images.

We do not always get everything right. News websites move fast, and sometimes content goes up before every accessibility check has been run. When that happens, we want to know about it.

What we have done so far

A few things we have deliberately built into the site:

• All pages can be navigated using a keyboard alone, without needing a mouse.
• Colour contrast between text and backgrounds meets WCAG AA across light and dark mode.
• Images used for editorial content carry descriptive alt text so screen readers can convey what is shown.
• The page structure uses proper heading levels, so people using screen readers can move through articles in a logical order.
• Font sizes scale cleanly when you increase text size in your browser settings.
• Videos hosted on our site carry captions where they are available.
• There is a skip link at the top of every page so keyboard users can jump past the navigation straight to the content.

What we are still working on

We are a small team, and accessibility work is ongoing. A few things are still in progress:

• Some older articles may have images without alt text. We are working through the archive to fix these.
• Embedded third-party content, such as social media posts or maps, may not fully meet our standards. That content is outside our direct control, but we are looking at alternatives where possible.
• Our comment sections are provided by a third party. We have raised accessibility concerns with them directly.

Known issues

We are currently tracking the following known problems and working to resolve them:

• Some interactive elements in the sidebar may not announce their state correctly to screen readers in older versions of NVDA.
• The mobile menu requires an extra keypress to close on certain Android browsers. A fix is in testing.

If you notice something that is not on this list, please let us know.

How to tell us about a problem

If any part of the site is not working well for you, we genuinely want to hear about it. You do not need to give us a full technical report. A description of what you were trying to do and what happened instead is enough.

Adjusting your own settings

You do not have to wait for us to fix something on our end. Most operating systems and browsers have built-in tools that can make a real difference:

• Windows: Narrator (built in), or NVDA and JAWS are widely used screen readers.
• macOS and iOS: VoiceOver is built into Apple devices and works well with Safari.
• Android: TalkBack is available in the Accessibility settings.
• All major browsers let you increase the default font size under their display or accessibility settings.
• Most operating systems have a high contrast mode or dark mode that can reduce eye strain.
• Browser zoom (usually Ctrl + and Cmd + on a Mac) works on all our pages without breaking the layout.

Enforcement and formal complaints

If you have contacted us about an accessibility problem and you are not satisfied with our response, you can escalate the matter. The relevant body depends on where you are based.

For users in Sierra Leone, the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM) handles digital communications standards. For users accessing the site from the United Kingdom or the European Union, you can contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) or your national enforcement body.

About this statement

This statement was last reviewed on 12 September 2026. We update it at least once a year, and whenever we make changes to the site that could affect accessibility.

The site was last tested against WCAG 2.1 Level AA using a combination of automated tools and manual testing with screen readers and keyboard-only navigation.