Accessibility Statement
What we have built in, and what we are still working on.
Questions about this document can be sent to info@viis.co.za or raised on 071 221 9900.
Draft for review. This document was prepared from how the website actually operates. It has not been reviewed by a legal practitioner. VIIS should confirm the contents — in particular the Information Officer details and retention periods — before the site goes live.
Our commitment
VIIS wants this website to be usable by as many people as possible, including people using screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, screen magnification or reduced-motion settings. We treat accessibility as part of building the site rather than as an afterthought.
Standard we are working to
We are working towards the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA. We have not yet completed a formal third-party audit against that standard, so we describe the site below as partially conformant: most of the standard is met, but some parts have not been independently verified.
What has been built in
The following measures are implemented across the site:
- Skip link. A “Skip to content” link is the first focusable element on every page.
- Keyboard navigation. All interactive elements — menus, dropdowns, accordions and the enquiry form — can be reached and operated by keyboard. The mobile menu closes on Escape.
- Visible focus. Keyboard focus is shown with a clear outline that is not removed.
- Screen reader support. Navigation uses correct roles and states (
aria-expanded,aria-haspopup,aria-current), the closed mobile drawer is markedinertso it is not reachable while hidden, and decorative icons are hidden from assistive technology. - Text alternatives. Every meaningful image carries alt text that describes what the image actually shows.
- Heading structure. Each page has exactly one
<h1>and a logical heading order beneath it. - Form labels. Every enquiry form field has a visible, correctly associated label.
- Reduced motion. Transitions and smooth scrolling are disabled for visitors whose system requests reduced motion.
- Responsive text. Layouts use relative units and reflow without horizontal scrolling down to a 375 px viewport.
- Language. Every page declares
lang="en-ZA".
Known limitations
We would rather state these plainly than claim full conformance:
- No independent audit yet. The site has not been formally tested by an external accessibility specialist or with a full range of assistive technologies.
- Colour contrast. Body and heading text has been checked, but some lighter text over hero photography, and some secondary text on tinted backgrounds, has not been verified against every contrast threshold.
- Photography. Alt text describes the scene shown. Where an image is purely atmospheric, that description may be less useful than a caption would be.
- Third-party content. Any embedded external content added in future may not meet the same standard, and we may not be able to correct it directly.
Tell us if something does not work
If you encounter a barrier on this site — something you cannot reach, read or operate — please tell us. It is genuinely useful, and it is the fastest way for us to fix it.
- Email: info@viis.co.za
- Telephone: 071 221 9900, Monday to Friday, 08:00–17:00
Please describe the page, what you were trying to do, and the browser or assistive technology you were using. We will acknowledge your message and tell you what we intend to do about it.
Alternative formats
If information on this site is not accessible to you, contact us and we will provide it in another format or discuss it with you directly.
Review
This statement will be updated as the site changes and as limitations above are addressed.