WCAG 2.2 AA Conformance Report (VPAT)

Voluntary Product Accessibility Template for Exposure public-facing story and site views

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Overview

This document provides an accessibility conformance summary for Exposure’s public-facing viewer experience, using the VPAT format as a practical reference point.

This report focuses on the parts of Exposure that visitors use when reading stories and browsing member sites, including:

• Story pages

• Member sites

• Category pages

• Public subscribe flows

• Contact forms

• Lightbox viewing

• Public menus, dialogs, and navigation

This report does not cover internal authoring or administrative interfaces such as:

• Story editor and compose tools

• Account settings and preferences

• Billing and subscription management

• Admin tools

Report date: March 2026 Contact: support@exposure.co

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Conformance Summary

Overall conformance level: Partially Supports WCAG 2.2 Level AA

Exposure has made substantial accessibility improvements to its public-facing views, with recent work focused on WCAG 2.2 viewer-facing behavior such as:

• Shared skip links and better main landmarks

• Improved keyboard navigation for public menus and dialogs

• Better focus management for subscribe modals, warning dialogs, and lightbox flows

• Stronger accessible names and labels for shared controls like search, share, and subscribe actions

• Better handling of expanded/collapsed menu state

• Reduced cases where hidden controls remained tabbable

Exposure also supports:

• Automated accessibility testing with axe-based coverage

• Semantic HTML and ARIA landmarks

• Reduced motion preferences

• AI-assisted alt text generation

• Public accessibility statement pages

Because Exposure supports user-generated content, custom styling, and third-party embeds, accessibility can vary depending on the content and configuration used on an individual site.

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Terms Used In This Report

Term	Meaning
Supports	The feature meets the criterion in normal public-facing use
Partially Supports	Most of the experience supports the criterion, but some content, configurations, or third-party integrations may not
Does Not Support	The feature generally does not meet the criterion
Not Applicable	The criterion is not relevant to the product scope described here

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Scope Of This Report

In Scope	Out Of Scope
Story pages	Story editor and compose experience
Member sites	Account settings
Category pages	Billing and subscriptions
Public contact forms	Admin dashboard
Public subscribe forms and modals	Photo upload and media management
Lightbox viewer	Internal analytics and management tools
Story Map viewer	Team and author workflow tools

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WCAG 2.2 Summary By Principle

Principle	Conformance	Notes
Perceivable	Partially Supports	Strong semantic structure and text alternatives support, but user-generated content, third-party embeds, and custom color choices can still affect outcomes
Operable	Supports	Public keyboard support, skip links, lightbox controls, dialog Escape handling, and shared menu focus improvements are implemented
Understandable	Supports	Public forms, labels, navigation patterns, and public page structure are designed for predictable use
Robust	Supports	Public views use semantic HTML, ARIA roles, status messaging, and improved dialog/menu state handling

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Public-Facing Accessibility Features

Navigation & Structure

• Skip links to main content on key public surfaces

• Main landmarks for public page structure

• Semantic heading hierarchy for story and site content

• Landmark navigation for primary public menus and page sections

Keyboard Support

• Public interactive controls are designed for keyboard access

• Escape closes supported public dialogs, modals, drawers, and lightbox flows

• Lightbox supports keyboard navigation

• Public menus and popouts have improved focus handling and state announcements

Dialogs & Focus Management

• Public subscribe modal uses dialog semantics

• Focus is moved into public dialogs when they open

• Focus is returned to the opener when supported dialogs close

• Closed menus and popouts are less likely to expose hidden focus targets

Public Forms

• Shared public search inputs have explicit labels

• Public subscribe flows use clearer labels and button names

• Public contact flows include clearer field labeling

Images & Media

• AI-assisted alt text support is available for story photos

• Photo captions and media semantics have been improved

• Videos are muted by default where used decoratively

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Notable WCAG 2.2 Viewer Improvements

Recent public-view improvements include:

• Better handling of Focus Visible

• Better handling of Focus Not Obscured

• Improved Target Size coverage for small public controls

• Stronger support for keyboard-only use of public dialogs and menus

• Better public support for accessible names, roles, and state changes

These changes were focused on the real visitor experience rather than internal editing tools.

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Criteria Highlights

1.1 Text Alternatives

Criterion	Conformance	Remarks
1.1.1 Non-text Content	Partially Supports	Exposure supports alt text and AI-assisted alt text generation, but user-generated content may still vary

1.3 Adaptable

Criterion	Conformance	Remarks
1.3.1 Info and Relationships	Supports	Public pages use headings, landmarks, and improved dialog/menu semantics
1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose	Supports	Key public form fields and shared search surfaces include clearer labels and input semantics

1.4 Distinguishable

Criterion	Conformance	Remarks
1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)	Partially Supports	Exposure improves default public contrast behavior, but author-customized themes and image overlays can still affect results
1.4.4 Resize Text	Supports	Public pages support zoom and responsive scaling
1.4.10 Reflow	Supports	Public layouts are designed to adapt responsively

2.1 Keyboard Accessible

Criterion	Conformance	Remarks
2.1.1 Keyboard	Supports	Public site and story controls are designed for keyboard use
2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap	Supports	Public dialogs and lightbox flows include supported escape and focus behavior

2.4 Navigable

Criterion	Conformance	Remarks
2.4.1 Bypass Blocks	Supports	Public skip links are available on key public layouts and pages
2.4.3 Focus Order	Supports	Public focus order has been improved, especially for menus and modals
2.4.7 Focus Visible	Supports	Shared visible focus styling is implemented for public controls
2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured	Supports	Public focus behavior has been improved to reduce obscured targets with sticky UI

2.5 Input Modalities

Criterion	Conformance	Remarks
2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum)	Partially Supports	Public controls have been improved, but custom content and certain compact UI states may still require validation

3.3 Input Assistance

Criterion	Conformance	Remarks
3.3.2 Labels or Instructions	Supports	Shared public search, subscribe, and contact flows have clearer labels and instructions

4.1 Compatible

Criterion	Conformance	Remarks
4.1.2 Name, Role, Value	Supports	Public controls, dialogs, menus, and buttons have improved accessible names and state semantics
4.1.3 Status Messages	Supports	Public UI includes improved messaging behavior where applicable

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Testing Approach

Exposure validates public accessibility using a mix of:

• Automated accessibility testing

• Manual keyboard testing

• Raw HTML/source inspection

• Ongoing review of public dialogs, menus, and viewing flows

Public accessibility work is iterative and continues as the platform evolves.

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Known Limitations

Accessibility can still be affected by:

• User-generated content without sufficient text alternatives

• Third-party embedded content

• Author-customized color schemes and cover images

• Custom code added by site owners

• Browser and assistive technology differences

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Legal Disclaimer

This conformance report is provided for informational purposes and reflects the public-facing viewer experience described above. It does not cover internal authoring, billing, account management, or administrative interfaces unless explicitly stated.

Accessibility conformance is assessed at a point in time and may change as the platform evolves.

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Need Help?

If you have questions about this accessibility conformance report, reach out to us at support@exposure.co. We’re happy to help!

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Need help?

Use the Exposure contact form.