Accessibility

Accessibility statement

We want anyone to be able to find a car here. This page records the standard we build to, what we last measured and when, what we found and fixed, what we know we have not covered, and what to do if something on this site stops you.

Target
WCAG 2.2 Level AA
Last measured
August 21, 2026
Measured by
Dealer Handshake Inc.
Sections
8

1. What we are working to

We build and test Car Handshake against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, version 2.2, Level AA. WCAG 2.2 AA contains everything in WCAG 2.1 AA, which is the level most commonly referenced in US practice and in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

We do not claim that the site fully conforms. Accessibility is not a state a website arrives at once; a catalogue of tens of thousands of listings changes every day, and some of what appears here is written by other people. What we can tell you is exactly what we measured, when, what we found, and what we know we have not covered. Sections 2 to 4 are that record.

2. What we measured, and how

The last audit ran on August 21, 2026 against the built site, not against a design file. It combined automated testing with manual checks, because automated tools verify only part of the standard.

  • Automated. Lighthouse audits on the search results page, a vehicle detail page, and the dealership directory, each on desktop and on mobile emulation. All six runs scored 100 for accessibility, and also for best practices, SEO, and agentic browsing. One unweighted audit failed; it is listed in section 3.
  • Contrast. Every colour pair in the design system is asserted in continuous integration against both WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios and APCA lightness contrast. Body text sits at 5.67:1 or better; the lightest ink we permit for text is 5.67:1, and the tone below it is restricted to icons, placeholders, and disabled controls, which the standard exempts.
  • Target size. Every interactive element on the audited pages was measured, including the padding overlays that enlarge a target without moving the layout. WCAG 2.2 requires 24×24 CSS pixels; we hold ourselves to 44×44. On the pages audited, no control falls below either figure.
  • Structure. One h1 per page, no skipped heading levels, one main landmark, every navigation region named, every image carrying alternative text, and every form control carrying a programmatic label.
  • Motion. Animation is limited to transform and opacity, and the whole motion layer is disabled when your system requests reduced motion.

3. What we fixed in the last audit

The August 2026 audit found five defects, all now corrected.

  • The last thumbnail in a vehicle gallery paints a “+46” badge but was named “View photo 3 of 49”. Someone using voice control and saying “click plus 46” matched nothing, which fails Label in Name.
  • Nine page types rendered a second main landmark inside the first, which gives a screen reader two candidates for the same region.
  • Dealership and market name links inside tables measured 14 pixels tall.
  • The “show all features” and “read the full description” controls on a vehicle page fell below the 24-pixel minimum.
  • The browse-by-make links measured 30 pixels rather than our own 44.

4. Known gaps

We would rather name these than imply they do not exist.

  • Pages beyond the audited set. The measurements above cover the search results page, vehicle detail pages, the dealership directory, and the legal pages. The remaining pages share the same components and design tokens, so we expect the same result, but we have not measured every one.
  • Screen readers. We test with the browser accessibility tree and by keyboard. We have not completed a full pass with JAWS, NVDA, or VoiceOver, so we cannot claim a verified experience in any specific screen reader yet.
  • Dealer-supplied content. Vehicle descriptions, photographs, and specifications come from participating dealerships. We sanitise and structure that content, but we do not write it, and we cannot guarantee that a dealer’s own description is written accessibly.
  • Third-party surfaces. When you reach Car Handshake through an AI assistant, that assistant’s interface is outside our control. This statement covers carhandshake.com.

5. Compatibility

Car Handshake is built for current versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge on desktop and mobile, with assistive technology supported by those browsers. The site reflows without horizontal scrolling down to a 320-pixel viewport — measured on the results page with the filter drawer open, and on a vehicle page — and holds at 200% zoom with nothing escaping the viewport.

6. If the site blocks you, we will do it with you

You do not have to wait for a fix to get what you came for. If any part of Car Handshake prevents you from searching inventory, reading a vehicle listing, or contacting a dealership, email support@dealerhandshake.com and a person will do it with you — search on your behalf, read a listing to you, or pass your enquiry to the dealership directly. There is no charge and no form to fill in.

7. Report a barrier

Tell us what stopped you and we will work on it. Email support@dealerhandshake.com with the page address, the device and browser you were using, the assistive technology if any, and what happened. We aim to reply within five business days, and to tell you what we can do about the problem and how to get the same result in the meantime.

8. About this statement

Dealer Handshake Inc. prepared this statement from its own evaluation of carhandshake.com; it has not been assessed by an external auditor. We update it when we re-measure the site, which we do when we change it materially and at least once a year.

This statement describes what we have measured and what we are working on. It is informational, it is not a warranty or a contract, and it does not limit any right you have under applicable law.