Accessibility at Caseback Chronicles
We want anyone who loves watches to be able to browse and buy here, including people who use screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, screen magnification, or other assistive technology.
This page explains the standard we are working to, what we have done so far, where we know we still fall short, and how to reach a human if something on this site gets in your way.
The standard we aim for
We are working toward the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA. This is the benchmark most widely referenced for commercial websites in the United States.
We describe this as an ongoing effort rather than a finished result. Accessibility on a live store that changes daily is maintenance, not a one-time project, and we would rather tell you honestly where we are than claim a clean bill of health.
What we have done
In August 2026 we audited the home page, shop, product pages, cart and checkout against WCAG 2.1 AA with automated testing, then went through the site again by keyboard and by inspecting what assistive technology is actually told. We fixed what both passes found:
- Raised text and link colour contrast across the navigation, breadcrumbs, pagination, product details, checkout and footer. Several items, including the sidebar product titles, had been so dark on the black background that they were invisible to everyone.
- Restored a visible keyboard focus indicator, so you can see where you are when tabbing through the site, and made the “skip to content” link visible when it receives focus.
- Added text labels to the search field, category selector, cart, wishlist, compare, account and social icons, which previously announced to a screen reader as unlabelled links.
- Wrote a description of every product photograph. All 650 images in the catalogue now describe the watch rather than repeating the product name.
- Made the slide-out menu and the product quick view behave like real dialogs: they announce themselves, keyboard focus moves into them, Tab stays inside while they are open, and Escape closes them and returns you to where you were.
- Added a main content landmark, a page heading, and a labelled breadcrumb region so assistive technology can move around the page.
- Added a pause control to the home page slideshow, and it now stays paused for visitors whose device is set to reduce motion.
- Made the FAQ and reviews search filters announce how many results they found.
- Repaired invalid accessibility markup coming from our third-party checkout components, and added the autocomplete hints that let a browser fill your details in for you.
We re-check the site monthly, because theme and plugin updates reintroduce these problems.
Where we know we still fall short
Being specific here is more useful to you than a general promise:
- Heading structure. Some headings on the home page and checkout skip a level, which makes heading-by-heading navigation less predictable than it should be. Fixing it properly means changing the theme, which we have not done yet.
- Checkout. Parts of our payment and phone-number fields are supplied by third-party services. We patch what we can, but we do not control their code. If checkout gives you trouble, contact us and we will complete your order manually.
- Embedded third-party content. Maps, video and social embeds are outside our direct control and may not meet the same standard as the rest of the site.
- Testing. Our checks so far are automated testing plus our own keyboard and assistive-technology review. We have not yet had the site tested by people who use screen readers every day, and that is the check that finds what the others miss.
- Small screens and heavy zoom. We have not yet verified that everything reflows correctly at very narrow widths or at 400% zoom.
If something here does not work for you
Please tell us. A short note about the page you were on and what happened is enough, and it genuinely helps us fix things faster than testing alone does.
Email casebackchron@gmail.com. We aim to reply within five business days.
You do not have to use this website to buy from us. If any part of the site is a barrier, email us and we will describe any watch in the catalogue, answer questions, and take your order directly.
A note on accessibility overlay widgets: we have deliberately chosen not to install one. Feedback from assistive technology users indicates that these tools frequently interfere with the screen readers and browser settings people already rely on. We would rather fix the underlying site.
