Accessibility Statement

Commitment

We want anyone who finds our work to be able to look at it and start a commission, regardless of how they use the web. Fine jewelry is for everyone, and a website is a poor reason to lose a conversation.

If something on this site keeps you from reaching the studio, tell us. Email howdy@westlakegoldsmiths.com and we will fix it or find another way to talk.

Standards we design toward

We design this site with WCAG 2.2 Level AA as a target. That means we aim for sufficient color contrast, keyboard operability, meaningful semantic structure, and respect for user preferences like reduced motion.

This is a design target, not a current attestation. We have not commissioned an external WCAG audit and we do not claim full conformance. Where we fall short, the next section says so plainly.

What we do today

Present-day practices on this site:

• Semantic HTML. Pages use proper landmarks (header, nav, main, article, footer), heading hierarchy, and list structure. Screen readers can traverse the page by region and heading.
• Keyboard-reachable navigation. Primary nav, footer links, and buttons are focusable with Tab. The mobile menu toggle uses a real <button> with aria-expanded.
• Focus outlines preserved. Default browser focus rings are intact on form fields. We have not suppressed :focus visibility.
• No autoplay audio. There is no audio or video on the site.
• Reduced-motion respected where possible. Non-essential hover transitions are subtle and short. The request-flow step transitions are brief fades.
• Warm-earth palette with readable contrast. Body copy uses --earth on --cream, which clears the 4.5:1 ratio WCAG requires for normal text. Headline copy uses --ink (near-black) on cream, well above 7:1.
• Photos carry alt attributes. Decorative tiles use empty alt. Editorial photographs get descriptive alt text.
• One goldsmith, one inbox. If any of the above breaks for you, the fix is one email away.

Known limitations

We would rather be candid than aspirational. Current gaps, which we are working on:

• Gold-dust canvas animation. The homepage hero has a decorative particle animation. It currently does not honor prefers-reduced-motion — the canvas draws regardless of user preference. This is a known limitation, slated for a fix. Until then, the animation is purely decorative and carries no information.
• Commission wizard keyboard focus. The multi-step request flow handles focus on a best-effort basis. Moving between steps may not always land focus on the new step's heading in every screen reader. Straight-through keyboard entry works; smooth landing does not.
• No external audit. We have not hired a third-party accessibility firm to audit this site. All claims on this page reflect our own review only.
• Placeholder photography alt text. Some collection photography is currently stock imagery with generic alt text. As we replace placeholders with studio photography, alt text will get richer and more descriptive.
• Small uppercase eyebrow labels. Our 11px uppercase tracked eyebrow labels can feel small to some readers, especially at high viewing distances. We are planning a larger variant for critical labels.

Report a barrier

If you hit a wall on this site — a button you can't reach, a color pair you can't read, a screen-reader moment that doesn't make sense — please tell us. Reply to howdy@westlakegoldsmiths.com with as much detail as you can: what you were trying to do, what happened, and what tool you were using (browser, screen reader, magnifier, etc.).

We answer within two business days. If the site is in your way, we will also take your commission inquiry by phone at (512) 766-7039 or in person at 807 The High Rd, Austin, TX 78746.