Accessibility Statement
Last updated: April 2026
The Göbekli Tepe guide is committed to making our website and companion app usable by as many people as possible, including people with disabilities. This statement describes our current level of conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, which is the international benchmark for digital accessibility.
The Göbekli Tepe guide is an independent resource operated by Pixelo Mobile Ltd (not affiliated with the excavation, the Şanlıurfa Museum, the DAI or UNESCO). As a private-sector website not classified as a public-sector body, our compliance is voluntary, but we treat it as a commitment rather than a suggestion.
1. Current conformance status
Partial conformance
exploregobeklitepe.com — aiming for WCAG 2.1 AA. Most pages meet or exceed AA; a few pages have known shortcomings listed below.
In development
Göbekli Tepe companion app — the free offline audio-guide app is in development. It is being built to meet WCAG 2.1 AA via native accessibility APIs, with audio at its core; we will publish its conformance status when it is released.
Planned
Third-party external audit — we plan an independent accessibility audit in H2 2026 and will publish the findings and remediation plan.
2. What works well
- Keyboard navigation: all core flows (browse the site and enclosures, read articles, sign in, contact form) are fully keyboard-accessible with visible focus states.
- Semantic HTML: pages use headings (
<h1>…<h3>) in order, landmark regions (<nav>, <main>, <footer>), and ARIA labels on interactive non-text controls.
- Colour contrast: our primary colours (ochre #8A5A2B, limestone #F3ECE0, warm sand #B07D45) pass AA contrast on body text. Small-text warnings on colour-only signals have been addressed with icons + labels.
- Text scaling: pages respond to browser text-zoom up to 200% without horizontal scroll or content loss.
- Forms: every input has a programmatically-linked label; errors are announced via
aria-live regions; required fields are marked.
- Images: content images include
alt text; decorative images use alt="".
- Language: the guide is published in English. Each page sets
<html lang="en"> correctly.
- Mobile touch targets: interactive elements follow Apple HIG (44×44 pt minimum) in the companion app.
- Audio first: the companion app's primary content is spoken audio, which is inherently usable by people who cannot read a screen comfortably.
3. Known issues we're actively fixing
| Area | Issue | Planned fix |
|---|
| Location map (interactive) |
Where we show an interactive map of the site's location, the map canvas is not directly screen-reader accessible. We provide a text alternative (address and getting-there directions) but the map itself is not fully announced. |
Add a clear text equivalent and a skip link to the directions. H2 2026. |
| Photo galleries |
Lightbox gallery focus trap works, but the escape-key hint isn't announced. |
Add aria-label="Press Escape to close". H2 2026. |
| Diagrams of the enclosures |
Some plan diagrams of the enclosures rely on visual layout that isn't fully described in text. |
Add longer text descriptions of each enclosure plan. H2 2026. |
| PDFs (downloadable summaries) |
Some downloadable PDFs were generated without tagged structure. |
Regenerate with structure tags, starting Q3 2026. |
4. Companion app accessibility
The Göbekli Tepe companion app is built with Flutter. We use the Flutter Semantics widget tree, which bridges to native accessibility APIs:
- VoiceOver / TalkBack read all buttons, list items, headings, and controls with meaningful labels.
- Dynamic Type is supported on text-based screens.
- Reduce Motion is honoured where we use animations (e.g. card transitions).
- High contrast mode is respected.
- Because the app's core content is spoken audio for each enclosure, the main experience does not depend on reading the screen.
5. Known app issues
- Audio player controls: we are reviewing the proximity-triggered audio player to ensure every control has a clear spoken label and that the currently-playing enclosure is announced.
- Maps within the app: the on-screen site map is not equivalent to a text description for screen-reader users. Workaround: each enclosure's audio can also be played on demand from a labelled list.
6. Need help using the guide?
If you can't complete something because of an accessibility barrier, we want to help you directly while we work on the fix:
- Email [email protected] — we aim to reply within 2 working days.
- Describe the page or screen and what you were trying to do.
- If you need information from a page you can't access, we'll send it to you in a format that works for you.
7. Report a new accessibility issue
Please send new barriers to [email protected] with:
- The URL or app screen
- The assistive tech you use (e.g. VoiceOver iOS 18, NVDA, keyboard only)
- What you expected to happen vs what did happen
We triage every report. Fixes for critical barriers (anything that blocks you from completing a task) are prioritised in our next release.
8. Enforcement
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the UK Equality Advisory and Support Service, which provides free guidance on disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.
9. Technical specification
The Göbekli Tepe guide is built using HTML5, CSS, JavaScript (vanilla — no heavy framework on the website), Flutter/Dart (companion app), and Django (back-end). These pages are tested against WCAG 2.1 AA criteria using a combination of:
- Manual keyboard-only testing
- axe DevTools browser extension
- Lighthouse Accessibility audit
- NVDA (Windows) and VoiceOver (macOS, iOS) screen readers
- Color Contrast Analyser for custom palette decisions
10. Commitment to improve
We prepared this statement on 24 April 2026. We review it every 6 months and update it when new features ship. The next scheduled review is October 2026.
Pixelo Mobile Ltd, company number 10585806. Registered office: Demsa Accounts, 565 Green Lanes, Haringey, London, England, N8 0RL.