WCAG 2.2 AAA Conformance — Moonwhisk

Scope: the public marketing site (home, legal pages, global nav/footer) targets Level AAA. The auth-gated admin CMS (/admin, noindex) is held to a Level AA baseline.

Themes: all visual criteria are met in every theme — dark (default), light, and decaf (low-stimulation). Contrast was verified by computation and by automated testing in all three.

How this was verified

• Automated: pnpm test:a11y runs axe-core over /, /privacy, /terms, /cookie-policy in each theme (12 runs) with Level A/AA + the AAA rules axe supports (notably color-contrast-enhanced, 1.4.6). 0 violations.
• Lint: pnpm lint:a11y (eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y, strict) — 0 errors.
• Manual: keyboard walkthrough, screen-reader landmark/heading pass, 200% zoom + 320px reflow, prefers-reduced-motion, prefers-contrast, and forced-colors emulation.

Automated tooling can only confirm ~30–40% of WCAG criteria. Items marked Manual below were checked by hand; items marked Auto are covered by the axe suite as a regression guard.

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Principle 1 — Perceivable

SC	Title	Lvl	Status	Notes
1.1.1	Non-text Content	A	Pass (Auto)	Icons aria-hidden; social/logo links have aria-label; cert iframe has title; decorative canvas/parallax aria-hidden.
1.2.x	Time-based Media	A–AAA	N/A	No audio or video.
1.3.1	Info and Relationships	A	Pass (Auto)	header/nav/main/footer landmarks, heading hierarchy, lists, <dl> glossary, programmatic label↔control association.
1.3.2	Meaningful Sequence	A	Pass	DOM order matches visual order.
1.3.3	Sensory Characteristics	A	Pass	No instructions rely on shape/position/sound alone.
1.3.4	Orientation	AA	Pass	Responsive; no orientation lock.
1.3.5	Identify Input Purpose	AA	Pass	Login uses autocomplete="current-password".
1.3.6	Identify Purpose	AAA	Pass	Landmark roles + ARIA state on controls; autocomplete on inputs.
1.4.1	Use of Color	A	Pass (Manual)	State never conveyed by colour alone; "opens in new tab" is text; prefers-contrast underlines links.
1.4.2	Audio Control	A	N/A	No auto audio.
1.4.3	Contrast (Minimum)	AA	Pass (Auto)	Superseded by 1.4.6.
1.4.4	Resize Text	AA	Pass (Manual)	rem/clamp type; legible at 200% with no loss.
1.4.5	Images of Text	AA	Pass	Live web fonts; logo is SVG/text.
1.4.6	Contrast (Enhanced)	AAA	Pass (Auto)	All body text ≥7:1, large text ≥4.5:1, in all 3 themes. Tokens --text-muted, --text-body, --gold (light), --gold-dim/--gold-light text uses, and --c-cyan (light) were re-tuned; verified by axe color-contrast-enhanced.
1.4.7	Low / No Background Audio	AAA	N/A	No audio.
1.4.8	Visual Presentation	AAA	Pass (Manual)	Reading columns ≤~72ch; body line-height ≥1.5; no justified text; user-selectable themes incl. low-stimulation decaf; prefers-contrast honored.
1.4.9	Images of Text (No Exception)	AAA	Pass	No images of text.
1.4.10	Reflow	AA	Pass (Manual)	Single-column reflow to 320px; no 2-D scroll.
1.4.11	Non-text Contrast	AA	Pass	Focus ring ≥3:1; control borders meet 3:1 (strengthened under prefers-contrast).
1.4.12	Text Spacing	AA	Pass	No clipped text under user spacing overrides.
1.4.13	Content on Hover or Focus	AAA	Pass (Manual)	No hover-only/title-based tooltips; glossary is a persistent <details>; nothing appears on hover that can't be dismissed/hovered.

Principle 2 — Operable

SC	Title	Lvl	Status	Notes
2.1.1	Keyboard	A	Pass (Auto)	All controls are native a/button; burger menu keyboard-operable; cert iframe is focusable (removed tabindex=-1).
2.1.2	No Keyboard Trap	A	Pass (Manual)	Verified; Esc closes the mobile menu.
2.1.3	Keyboard (No Exception)	AAA	Pass (Manual)	No mouse-only functionality.
2.1.4	Character Key Shortcuts	A	N/A	No single-character shortcuts.
2.2.1	Timing Adjustable	A	N/A	No time limits.
2.2.2	Pause, Stop, Hide	A	Pass (Manual)	Decorative motion stops via prefers-reduced-motion and the decaf theme (a persistent, user-accessible control); animations also pause off-screen/when tab hidden.
2.2.3	No Timing	AAA	Pass	No time limits anywhere.
2.2.4	Interruptions	AAA	Pass	Only the cookie banner; dismissible, no re-prompts.
2.2.5 / 2.2.6	Re-authenticating / Timeouts	AAA	N/A	Admin only (AA scope); no public sessions.
2.3.1	Three Flashes or Below	A	Pass (Manual)	No content flashes; slowest pulse is 2s (0.5 Hz).
2.3.2	Three Flashes	AAA	Pass (Manual)	No flashing.
2.3.3	Animation from Interactions	AAA	Pass	Motion disabled under prefers-reduced-motion.
2.4.1	Bypass Blocks	A	Pass (Manual)	"Skip to main content" link → #main-content.
2.4.2	Page Titled	A	Pass	Unique per-page <title>.
2.4.3	Focus Order	A	Pass (Manual)	Logical order; skip-link first.
2.4.4	Link Purpose (In Context)	A	Pass (Auto)	Descriptive links.
2.4.5	Multiple Ways	AA	Pass	Nav, in-page anchors, footer links, sitemap.xml.
2.4.6	Headings and Labels	AA	Pass (Auto)	Descriptive headings/labels.
2.4.7	Focus Visible	AA	Pass (Auto)	Global :focus-visible ring.
2.4.8	Location	AAA	Pass (Manual)	Sitemap + consistent nav; legal pages are single-level (no breadcrumb needed).
2.4.9	Link Purpose (Link Only)	AAA	Pass (Manual)	Link text self-describes; external links append a hidden "(opens in new tab)".
2.4.10	Section Headings	AAA	Pass	Each section has a heading (visually-hidden where the design omits a visible one).
2.4.11	Focus Not Obscured (Min)	AA	Pass	scroll-padding-top keeps focus clear of the sticky nav.
2.4.12	Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced)	AAA	Pass (Manual)	Same; focused targets fully visible.
2.4.13	Focus Appearance	AAA	Pass (Manual)	3px ring, 3px offset, ≥7:1 against the surface (well over the 3:1 / 2px minimum).
2.5.1	Pointer Gestures	A	Pass	No path/multipoint gestures.
2.5.2	Pointer Cancellation	A	Pass	Activation on click/up.
2.5.3	Label in Name	A	Pass (Auto)	Visible text is within the accessible name.
2.5.4	Motion Actuation	A	N/A	No motion actuation.
2.5.5	Target Size (Enhanced)	AAA	Pass (Manual)	Nav links, CTA, burger, social, theme-toggle ≥44×44 px.
2.5.6	Concurrent Input Mechanisms	AAA	Pass	No input-mode restrictions.
2.5.7	Dragging Movements	AA	N/A	No dragging on the public site (demos are non-interactive).
2.5.8	Target Size (Minimum)	AA	Pass	Superseded by 2.5.5.

Principle 3 — Understandable

SC	Title	Lvl	Status	Notes
3.1.1	Language of Page	A	Pass	<html lang="en">.
3.1.2	Language of Parts	A	Pass	No foreign-language passages.
3.1.3	Unusual Words	AAA	Pass	Footer glossary defines jargon (lib/glossary.ts).
3.1.4	Abbreviations	AAA	Pass	Glossary lists expansions (CLT, SDK, ONNX, TCN, Ltd).
3.1.5	Reading Level	AAA	Deferred	Not claimed. Per project decision, marketing copy is not rewritten; the glossary + help affordance support comprehension instead. The only AAA criterion not asserted.
3.1.6	Pronunciation	AAA	N/A	Meaning does not depend on pronunciation.
3.2.1	On Focus	A	Pass	No context change on focus.
3.2.2	On Input	A	Pass	No surprise context change on input.
3.2.3	Consistent Navigation	AA	Pass	Nav/footer consistent across pages.
3.2.4	Consistent Identification	AA	Pass	Components identified consistently.
3.2.5	Change on Request	AAA	Pass (Manual)	New windows announced; no automatic context changes.
3.2.6	Consistent Help	A	Pass	Glossary/help in the footer on every page; contact links consistent.
3.3.1	Error Identification	A	Pass	Login: aria-invalid + role="alert".
3.3.2	Labels or Instructions	A	Pass (Auto)	All inputs labelled (Field ties label↔control + hint via aria-describedby).
3.3.3	Error Suggestion	AA	Pass	Login errors are descriptive.
3.3.4	Error Prevention (Legal/Financial)	AA	N/A	No legal/financial transactions (sign-up is an external Tally form).
3.3.5	Help	AAA	Pass	Consistent footer help + glossary; contact links.
3.3.6	Error Prevention (All)	AAA	Pass (Manual, admin)	Admin saves are explicit and reversible (re-editable); no destructive auto-submit.
3.3.7	Redundant Entry	A	Pass	No multi-step re-entry.
3.3.8	Accessible Authentication (Min)	AA	Pass (admin)	Password field; paste & password managers allowed; no cognitive test.
3.3.9	Accessible Authentication (Enhanced)	AAA	Pass (admin)	autocomplete="current-password"; no cognitive-function test.

Principle 4 — Robust

SC	Title	Lvl	Status	Notes
4.1.2	Name, Role, Value	A	Pass (Auto)	Burger exposes aria-expanded/aria-controls; theme toggle exposes state; form controls named.
4.1.3	Status Messages	AA	Pass	Save progress via aria-live="polite"; errors via role="alert".

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Residual risk & caveats

1. 3.1.5 Reading Level (AAA) is intentionally not claimed — copy is left to the editorial team; the glossary/help mechanism is the chosen support.
2. Third-party widgets — the Tally pop-up form and the vanilla-cookieconsent banner (#cc-main) are excluded from our own axe assertion. Both are keyboard-operable and reputable, but their internal conformance is outside this codebase. Re-verify if either is upgraded.
3. Automated coverage — axe confirms a subset of criteria; the Manual rows above are the ones a human verified and the ones to re-check after large visual changes.