Accessible by design
Accessibility
Cooking instructions printed on packaging are often small, crowded and hard to read. CookGuide exists to fix that, so accessibility is part of what it is, not an add-on.
What every CookGuide supports
- Readable textText scales with your browser settings, plus CookGuide's own Large and Largest sizes. Layouts reflow rather than cutting off.
- ContrastA high-contrast mode, and support for your device's contrast and reduced-motion settings.
- Screen readersProper headings, labelled controls, and temperatures and times marked up as values.
- KeyboardEverything works with a keyboard, with visible focus. In step-by-step mode, the arrow keys move between steps.
- Two ways to readStep-by-step cards, or the complete guide on one page.
- Not colour aloneLarge touch targets, and meaning is always written, never only shown in colour.
- LanguagesInstructions in the languages the manufacturer provides, with the page language set correctly for assistive technology.
- No JavaScript neededGuides work even if scripts are blocked or fail to load.
Conformance
CookGuide consumer pages aim to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at level AA. We believe they meet it; where we know they don't, we say so below.
The page itself is ours: its structure, controls, colours and behaviour. The words and pictures in each guide are written by the manufacturer. We check those too, and prompt manufacturers to fix anything that would make a guide harder to read or hear before they publish.
How we test
Every screen of a guide (the start, the summary, all steps on one page, step by step, and the finish) is tested:
- Automatically, with axe-core against WCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 A and AA, at standard text, Largest text and high contrast, on phones 320 and 360 pixels wide.
- By hand, for what automated tools can't judge: reflow at 320 pixels with no sideways scrolling, text spacing, zoom to 200%, keyboard only with visible focus, target sizes, reduced motion, and use with scripts turned off.
Manufacturers can run the same automated report on their own guides from the CookGuide portal before publishing. It also checks what they wrote: image descriptions, temperatures and times entered as values rather than typed, text in capitals, very long steps and emoji.
Known limitations
- Image descriptions are written by manufacturers. We ask for one on every image and flag unhelpful ones (such as a file name), but can't guarantee their quality.
- Guides are only in the languages a manufacturer provides. Text not yet translated is shown in the original language.
Tell us about a problem
If something in a CookGuide is hard to use, please contact us, saying which product and what went wrong. We treat accessibility problems as bugs.
This statement was last reviewed on 30 September 2026.