top of page

Accessibility Statement

Accessibility Statement
Last updated: June 4, 2025

At Northwoods Mosquito and Tick Solutions, we are committed to ensuring that our website—https://www.northwoodsmosquitoandticksolutions.com—is accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. We continually work toward improving the user experience by following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards.

What Web Accessibility Is

Web accessibility means that people of all abilities and disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with our website. Our goal is to provide the same information and functionality to all visitors—regardless of how they access the web (via screen readers, keyboard navigation, voice control, or other assistive technologies).

Accessibility Adjustments on This Site

We have designed and developed our site in accordance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines. Below are specific measures we have implemented:

  • Semantic HTML & Logical Structure

    • All pages use proper heading hierarchy (e.g., <h1>, <h2>, <h3>) so that screen readers can announce page structure correctly.

    • Landmark roles (e.g., <header>, <nav>, <main>, <footer>) are defined to help keyboard and screen‐reader users navigate efficiently.

  • Alternative Text for Images

    • Every meaningful image on the site includes an appropriate alt attribute describing the visual content (e.g., service diagrams, infographics, location map).

    • Decorative images that do not convey essential information are marked with empty alt="" so screen readers skip them.

  • Color Contrast & Readable Typography

    • All text meets a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 against its background (AA standard for normal text) and 3:1 for large text.

    • We avoid using color alone to convey important information; whenever color indicates status or meaning, we also include text labels or icons.

    • Font sizes and line spacing are chosen to ensure readability; users can also zoom in up to 200% without loss of content or functionality.

  • Keyboard Navigation & Focus Indicators

    • All interactive elements (links, buttons, form fields, navigation menus) are operable via keyboard (Tab, Enter, Arrow keys).

    • Clear, visible focus outlines are provided whenever a user tabs through links, buttons, or form inputs, so keyboard users always know where they are on the page.

  • Forms & Labels

    • All form fields (e.g., “Contact Us,” “Schedule Service,” newsletter sign-up) include explicit <label> tags that are programmatically associated with their corresponding input fields.

    • Error messages and validation notices are clearly announced to screen readers and visually highlighted for sighted users.

  • Responsive Design & Viewport Meta Tag

    • The site is fully responsive across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.

    • We use the <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> tag to ensure proper scaling.

  • ARIA Attributes & Live Regions

    • Where necessary, WAI-ARIA roles, states, and properties are used to communicate dynamic content changes (e.g., pop-up confirmation messages, dynamically updated price estimates) to screen readers.

    • Content updates that do not involve a full page reload are announced through ARIA live regions so that assistive technologies can relay changes in real time.

  • Skip Navigation Link

    • A “Skip to Main Content” link appears at the top of each page to allow keyboard and screen‐reader users to bypass repetitive navigation links and go directly to the page’s primary content.

  • Accessible Multimedia

    • All videos embedded on the site include closed captions or transcripts.

    • Any audio content is accompanied by a text transcript.

  • Reduced Motion & Animations

    • Where animations or transitions are used (for example, sliding dropdowns in navigation), they adhere to the user’s system preferences for reduced motion. Users who have enabled “prefers-reduced-motion” in their operating system will experience minimal or no motion effects.

  • Consistent Navigation & Clear Labels

    • Navigation menus are consistent from page to page, with clear, descriptive link text.

    • Buttons and links use action-oriented labels (e.g., “Request a Quote,” “Contact Us,” “Learn More”) rather than vague phrases like “Click Here.”

  • Documented Techniques & Testing

    • We reference W3C’s ARIA Authoring Practices and other W3C resources when implementing accessibility features.

    • Regular internal audits—including keyboard-only walkthroughs and screen‐reader tests (NVDA and VoiceOver)—are performed to catch and correct any accessibility issues.

Declaration of Partial Compliance Due to Third-Party Content

Although we strive for full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, some pages or elements on our site rely on third‐party services that may not fully meet these standards. These include:

  1. Online Scheduling Widget

    • Our booking platform (embedded via a third‐party iframe) does not fully expose all ARIA labels for every field. We have worked with the vendor to optimize keyboard focus and video captions where possible, but certain fields within the widget remain partially inaccessible.

  2. Payment Gateway & PayPal Buttons

    • Payment processing is handled through a third‐party provider (Stripe or PayPal). While we ensure that the outer container is keyboard‐focusable, the provider’s checkout flow occasionally uses custom elements that are not completely ARIA-labeled. We continue to collaborate with the provider to improve accessibility.

  3. Embedded Map (Google Maps API)

    • Our “Service Area” map is embedded using Google Maps. Although Google has improved screen‐reader support, some map controls and markers remain difficult to navigate with assistive technologies. We provide a text alternative listing our service area ZIP codes in the footer of every page.

For any content that is not fully accessible due to third‐party limitations, we reference the specific URLs below:

  • Appointment & Booking Page:
    https://www.northwoodsmosquitoandticksolutions.com/book-service

  • Payment Processing Redirect:
    https://checkout.stripe.com/ (for credit card payments)
    https://www.paypal.com/ (for PayPal payments)

  • Embedded Service Area Map:
    https://www.northwoodsmosquitoandticksolutions.com/service-area

Feedback & Contact Information

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of our site. If you encounter any barriers or have suggestions for improvement, please let us know:

Please specify:

  1. The URL of the page where you experienced an issue.

  2. A brief description of the problem (e.g., “Screen reader does not announce label on scheduling form,” or “Cannot navigate map controls via keyboard”).

  3. Your preferred method of contact (email or phone).

We will review all feedback promptly—typically within 5 business days—and work to resolve any issues as soon as possible.

Ongoing Efforts & Future Improvements

Northwoods Mosquito and Tick Solutions continuously monitors and updates our site to improve accessibility. Future plans include:

  1. Full Widget Remediation

    • Continue collaborating with our booking and payment providers to ensure their embedded components meet WCAG AA standards.

  2. Enhanced Mobile Accessibility

    • Optimize touch‐target sizes and ensure all form fields have adequate labels for mobile screen‐reader users.

  3. Periodic Third‐Party Audits

    • Engage an independent accessibility consultant every 12 months to perform a comprehensive audit, including manual testing and automated scanning.

  4. Training for Content Authors

    • Provide ongoing training to our content editors and developers on accessible authoring practices (e.g., writing clear link text, using ARIA appropriately, creating accessible PDFs).

Disclaimer

While we strive for continuous compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines, web technologies and assistive technologies evolve rapidly. If you experience any difficulty accessing or using content on this website, please let us know right away (using the contact information above) so that we can address the issue.

Thank you for visiting Northwoods Mosquito and Tick Solutions. We appreciate your patience and input as we work to make our online services accessible to everyone.

bottom of page