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Accessibility statement

We want everyone who runs a business to be able to use Ask Sterling, including people who use a screen reader, a keyboard, magnification or voice control. Our target is the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at level AA. This page sets out what we've done, what we know falls short, and how to tell us when something doesn't work for you.

What we've done

  • Semantic HTML. Pages use real headings, lists, tables and landmarks, so a screen reader can jump around them and announce what each part is.
  • Keyboard navigation. Everything you can click, you can reach and use with the keyboard, in a logical order.
  • Visible focus. When you tab through the page, the focused element is clearly outlined.
  • Colour contrast checked. WCAG AA asks for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text. Our body text measures 15.7:1 against the page background, and the dark text on our orange buttons measures 5.5:1. We never put white text on the orange, because that pairing fails.
  • Reduced motion respected. If your device is set to reduce motion, we turn animations off.
  • Labelled calculators. Every calculator field has a visible label that screen readers announce, and the calculators work with a screen reader and without a mouse.
  • Automated checks. Our test suite runs automated accessibility checks (axe) against our pages, so common problems are caught before a change goes live.
  • Plain English. One idea per sentence, jargon translated where it's used, figures in numerals.

Known limitations

  • Illustrations. The pictures of Sterling are decorative and marked so screen readers skip them. Where an illustration carries meaning, it has a text description.
  • The enquiry form is a separate site. Our enquiry funnel runs on a separate site from these pages. We hold it to the same target, but it is built and tested separately, so tell us if you hit a problem there.
  • Automated tools miss things. Automated checks catch a share of issues, not all of them. We haven't yet had a full manual audit by assistive-technology users, and we'd welcome your feedback.

Tell us about a problem

If something on the site doesn't work for you, email mike@optimax-ai.com. It helps to include:

  • the page address;
  • what you were trying to do;
  • the device, browser and any assistive technology you use.

We aim to reply within 5 working days. If you need information from a page in a different format, ask, and we'll do our best to provide it.

This statement

This statement was last reviewed on 1 October 2026. We'll review it whenever we make significant changes to the site.

Sources