Accessibility

Accessibility is not a feature we bolt on — it is how we build. Every restaurant website on Remi meets WCAG 2.2 Level AA standards, and we hold ourselves to the same standard.

Our commitment

Remi believes the web should be usable by everyone. We design and build every page — both this marketing site and the restaurant websites we power — to be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for all users, including people who rely on assistive technology.

We target conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This is the standard referenced by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508, the European Accessibility Act (EAA), and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

What we do on this site

  • Semantic HTML throughout — headings, landmarks, lists, and links used correctly so assistive technology can navigate the page structure.
  • All text meets WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios: minimum 4.5:1 for body text, 3:1 for large text and UI components.
  • Keyboard navigation works across the entire site. Focus indicators are visible on all interactive elements.
  • All images include descriptive alt text. Decorative images are marked with empty alt attributes so screen readers skip them.
  • No information is conveyed by color alone. Status indicators, dietary labels, and interactive states use text, shape, or position in addition to color.
  • The site works at 200% browser zoom without loss of content or functionality.
  • No auto-playing media, no flashing content, no time-limited interactions.

What we build for every restaurant

Every restaurant website built on Remi includes these accessibility features by default. They cannot be turned off.

  • Skip-to-content link on every page, visible on keyboard focus, allowing users to bypass navigation.
  • Alt text enforced at the database level. Photos cannot be uploaded without descriptive alt text. This is a hard constraint, not a suggestion.
  • Contrast-safe text over images. Hero sections use gradient overlays and CSS text shadows to guarantee readability regardless of the background image.
  • Accessible booking forms. Every form field has a visible label (not placeholder-only). Required fields are marked. Error messages identify the problem and suggest a fix. Form state is preserved on error.
  • Dietary information uses text and color. Menu items show dietary flags (V, VG, GF, DF) with both colored badges and full-text labels, so meaning is never color-dependent.
  • ARIA landmarks and heading hierarchy. Every page uses proper semantic structure: nav, main, article, section, figure. Screen readers can navigate by heading level.
  • Keyboard-operable interactions. Every button, link, and form control is reachable and operable via keyboard. No mouse-only interactions.
  • Responsive at all zoom levels. Sites reflow correctly at 200% zoom. Touch targets meet the 44x44px minimum.
  • Dedicated accessibility page. Every restaurant site includes a public accessibility statement with contact information for reporting barriers.

Legal landscape

Web accessibility is increasingly a legal requirement, not just a best practice. Restaurants with inaccessible websites face real legal risk.

United States — ADA Title III

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires places of public accommodation — including restaurants — to provide equal access. Federal courts have consistently held that websites are covered under Title III. ADA website lawsuits have increased year over year, with over 4,000 filed in 2023 alone. The DOJ has stated that WCAG 2.1 AA is the expected standard.

California — Unruh Civil Rights Act

California's Unruh Act provides a private right of action with statutory damages of $4,000 per violation. An ADA violation is automatically an Unruh violation. California accounts for the majority of web accessibility lawsuits in the US.

European Union — European Accessibility Act

The EAA (Directive 2019/882) requires digital services to meet EN 301 549 (based on WCAG 2.1 AA) by June 2025. Member states set their own enforcement and penalties.

Canada — AODA & ACA

Ontario's AODA requires WCAG 2.0 AA for organizations with 50+ employees. The federal Accessible Canada Act (ACA) extends requirements nationally for federally regulated entities. Fines up to $250,000.

Remi handles this for you. Every site we build meets WCAG 2.2 AA — the most current standard — out of the box. You don't need to hire an accessibility consultant or worry about compliance. It's built into the platform.

Why photo descriptions are required

Every photo on your Remi website needs a caption of at least 30 characters. This caption is shown to all visitors and read aloud by screen readers. WCAG Success Criterion 1.1.1 requires meaningful text alternatives for all images — a missing or vague description like "food" or "interior" is a violation.

Describe what a person would see. Be specific: "A seared salmon fillet on a bed of lentils with herb butter, served on a white plate" — not "food photo." The 30-character minimum ensures every photo is genuinely accessible.

Bad
Good
"Food"
"A seared salmon fillet on a bed of lentils with herb butter"
"Interior"
"The dining room at evening service with candlelit tables and exposed brick"
"IMG_4392.jpg"
"A glass of red wine on a white tablecloth with soft candlelight"

How we test

  • Automated scanning with axe-core on every theme and page type.
  • Manual testing with VoiceOver (macOS/iOS) and NVDA (Windows).
  • Keyboard-only navigation testing across all flows (browse, book, contact).
  • Color contrast verification with WCAG contrast checker tools.
  • Responsive testing at 200% zoom on desktop and mobile viewports.

Report a barrier

If you encounter an accessibility barrier on this site or any restaurant site powered by Remi, we want to know. We take every report seriously and will work to resolve issues promptly.

Email: accessibility@itsremi.app

Last updated: 2026