Accessibility Statement

Our Commitment to Accessibility

GuitarChordIdentifier.com is committed to making its content and tools as accessible as possible to all users, including people with disabilities. Daniel Murphy designs and maintains this site with accessibility as a baseline requirement, not a secondary concern.

This statement documents the current conformance level of GuitarChordIdentifier.com, what has been implemented to support accessible use, where genuine limitations exist, and how to report accessibility problems.

Conformance Status

GuitarChordIdentifier.com is partially conformant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA.

Partial conformance means the majority of site content and functionality meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. The fret input chord identification mode is fully accessible — it requires only keyboard or pointer input and produces text output with no audio dependency. The microphone chord identification mode has an inherent audio dependency that creates limitations for deaf and hard-of-hearing users. These distinctions are documented honestly in the Known Limitations section below.

All text-based content on this site — educational articles, explainers, FAQs, and legal pages — meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards fully.

What We Have Implemented

Keyboard Navigation All interactive elements on this site — buttons, links, form fields, fretboard input controls, and microphone mode controls — are fully operable via keyboard alone. Tab order follows a logical reading sequence. No keyboard traps exist anywhere on the site. The fret input mode can be operated entirely by keyboard without a mouse or touchscreen.

Colour Contrast All text content meets the WCAG 2.1 Level AA minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Contrast ratios have been verified using the WebAIM Contrast Checker against all foreground and background colour combinations used on the site, including chord result displays and fretboard labels.

Alternative Text All meaningful images on GuitarChordIdentifier.com include descriptive alt text. Decorative images use empty alt attributes (alt="") so screen readers skip them without generating redundant announcements.

Skip Navigation Link A skip-to-main-content link is present at the top of every page, allowing keyboard and screen reader users to bypass the site header and navigation and move directly to the main page content.

Responsive Design All pages are fully responsive and function correctly at viewport widths from 320 px upward. Text does not overflow its container at any standard zoom level. Interactive elements remain operable at mobile screen sizes.

No Autoplay Audio or Video No audio or video content on GuitarChordIdentifier.com plays automatically. The microphone mode activates only when explicitly initiated by the user. No background audio, ambient sound, or autoplaying media exists on any page.

Readable Typography Body text is set in a legible sans-serif typeface at a base size of at least 16 px. Line spacing meets the WCAG 1.4.12 Text Spacing requirement. Users can increase text size up to 200% using browser zoom without loss of content or functionality.

Focus Indicators Visible focus indicators are present on all interactive elements. Users navigating by keyboard can always see which element is currently in focus.

Form Labels All form fields — including the contact form — have programmatically associated labels. No placeholder text is used as a substitute for a visible label.

Screen Reader Compatible Output All chord identification results — chord names, detected notes, inversion labels — are rendered as standard HTML text, fully readable by screen readers. There are no canvas-only or image-only result displays.

Known Limitations

The microphone chord identification mode requires hearing to use meaningfully. The microphone mode captures live guitar audio from the user’s playing. A user who is deaf or hard of hearing cannot use auditory feedback to monitor their own playing, ensure the chord is ringing clearly, or verify whether the detected chord matches their intended voicing. The chord result is displayed as text and is screen-reader accessible, but the input process — playing a chord on guitar while monitoring the result — depends on auditory self-monitoring.

The fret input mode is fully accessible. Deaf and hard-of-hearing users can use the fret input mode without any accommodation — it requires only keyboard or pointer input and produces text output with no audio component.

Real-time chord display and screen reader announcement. The chord name display updates in real time during microphone detection. Static final results are fully readable by screen readers. Rapidly updating live values during detection may not be announced by screen readers in a timely or useful way. This is flagged as a known limitation and documented as a work in progress.

Virtual fretboard interface on mobile. The virtual fretboard is optimised for desktop use. On small mobile screens, individual fret positions can be difficult to interact with precisely using touch. This is a usability limitation that affects all users on small screens and is documented as a known issue under review.

Fully Accessible Features

  • Fret input chord identification — fully operable by keyboard, mouse, or touch; no hearing required; text output
  • All educational articles, explainers, and the FAQ
  • The How It Works page — complete text documentation of both pipelines
  • All legal pages
  • The Contact page and contact form
  • All site navigation

Testing and Verification

Accessibility testing on GuitarChordIdentifier.com has been conducted using:

  • NVDA + Chrome on Windows 11 — keyboard navigation, fret input operation, screen reader announcement of chord results
  • VoiceOver + Safari on macOS — keyboard navigation, fret input operation, screen reader announcement and focus management
  • VoiceOver + Safari on iOS — touch navigation, screen reader announcement on mobile

Testing is reviewed annually and after any significant site update. The most recent accessibility review was completed in June 2026.

Feedback and Contact

If you experience an accessibility barrier on GuitarChordIdentifier.com — or if any part of this site is difficult to use because of a disability — please contact Daniel Murphy directly.

Email: contact@guitarchordidentifier.com Subject line: Accessibility Feedback Response time: Within 7 business days

Daniel Murphy reviews all accessibility feedback personally and commits to investigating reported barriers and providing a written response within 7 business days.

Related Pages

Annual Review Schedule

This Accessibility Statement is reviewed and updated annually, or sooner if significant changes are made to the site. The next scheduled review is June 2027.

Written by Daniel Murphy, founder of GuitarChordIdentifier.com. Last updated: June 2026.

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