Accessibility
CONFORMANCEREPORT.
Backed Accessibility Conformance Report. WCAG Edition, based on VPAT® Version 2.5.
Report date 7 November 2026
- Name of product and version
- Backed: Web application as deployed on 2026-11-07
- Report date
- 7 November 2026
- Product description
- Grants management software: the Administrator, Applicant, Assessor and Verifier portals, the public Landing Pages, round index and referee page, and the sign-in hub.
- Contact information
- contact@backed.giving
- Notes
- This report is a self-assessment by Backed. It is not the result of an independent audit. An independent audit has been commissioned and its results will replace this report.
Evaluation methods used
- An automated axe-core scan against the WCAG 2.0 and 2.1 Level A and AA rules, run in the end-to-end journeys of each portal. A serious or critical violation fails the build.
- An internal keyboard-only pass over a sample of page templates in each portal.
- An internal screen reader pass with NVDA on Windows and VoiceOver on macOS over the same sample.
- Each sampled template checked at 375 px and 1,280 px wide for reflow and zoom.
- Where the sample did not reach every page template, a criterion is reported as Partially Supports rather than Supports.
Applicable standards and guidelines
| Standard or guideline | Included in report |
|---|---|
| Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 | Level A (Yes), Level AA (Yes), Level AAA (No) |
| Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 | Level A (Yes), Level AA (Yes), Level AAA (No) |
Terms
- Supports
- The functionality of the product has at least one method that meets the criterion without known defects or meets with equivalent facilitation.
- Partially Supports
- Some functionality of the product does not meet the criterion.
- Does Not Support
- The majority of product functionality does not meet the criterion.
- Not Applicable
- The criterion is not relevant to the product.
- Not Evaluated
- The product has not been evaluated against the criterion. This can only be used in WCAG Level AAA criteria.
Table 1: Success Criteria, Level A
| Criteria | Conformance Level | Remarks and Explanations |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A) | Partially Supports | Icons and images carry text alternatives or are hidden from assistive technology. Organisation logos without written alternative text are announced by name (A11Y-004). |
| 1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded) (Level A) | Not Applicable | The portals have no prerecorded or live audio or video of their own. A video an Applicant uploads as an answer is their content and plays in the browser’s own player. |
| 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) (Level A) | Not Applicable | The portals have no prerecorded or live audio or video of their own. A video an Applicant uploads as an answer is their content and plays in the browser’s own player. |
| 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded) (Level A) | Not Applicable | The portals have no prerecorded or live audio or video of their own. A video an Applicant uploads as an answer is their content and plays in the browser’s own player. |
| 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) | Partially Supports | Pages use headings, landmarks, labelled fields and table headers. PDFs generated before tagged output, and some other generated PDFs, lack structure (A11Y-002, A11Y-003). |
| 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (Level A) | Partially Supports | Page reading order follows the visual order. Untagged PDFs have no set reading order (A11Y-002, A11Y-003). |
| 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 1.4.1 Use of Color (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 1.4.2 Audio Control (Level A) | Supports | No audio plays automatically. An uploaded video plays only when started. |
| 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 2.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts (Level A) | Partially Supports | The / key opens Search in the Administrator and Assessor portals and cannot be turned off or remapped (A11Y-001). It does nothing while a field has focus. |
| 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 2.3.1 Three Flashes or Below Threshold (Level A) | Supports | The portals have no flashing content. |
| 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 2.4.2 Page Titled (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 2.5.1 Pointer Gestures (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 2.5.3 Label in Name (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 2.5.4 Motion Actuation (Level A) | Supports | No function is operated by moving or shaking the device. |
| 3.1.1 Language of Page (Level A) | Supports | Every page sets its language on the html element from the reader’s locale. Tagged PDFs set the document language. |
| 3.2.1 On Focus (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 3.2.2 On Input (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 3.3.1 Error Identification (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 4.1.1 Parsing (Level A) | Supports | Pages are rendered by React, which emits well-formed markup. WCAG’s 2023 errata treats this criterion as always met for HTML. |
| 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
Table 2: Success Criteria, Level AA
| Criteria | Conformance Level | Remarks and Explanations |
|---|---|---|
| 1.2.4 Captions (Live) (Level AA) | Not Applicable | The portals have no live audio or video. |
| 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) (Level AA) | Not Applicable | The portals have no prerecorded or live audio or video of their own. A video an Applicant uploads as an answer is their content and plays in the browser’s own player. |
| 1.3.4 Orientation (Level AA) | Supports | No page locks its orientation; every page works in portrait and landscape. |
| 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA) | Partially Supports | The automated scan fails the build on a serious contrast violation in the journeys it covers. Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 1.4.4 Resize text (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 1.4.5 Images of Text (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Sampled templates were checked at 375 px. Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 1.4.12 Text Spacing (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 2.4.5 Multiple Ways (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 2.4.7 Focus Visible (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 3.1.2 Language of Parts (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 3.2.4 Consistent Identification (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 3.3.3 Error Suggestion (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data) (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
| 4.1.3 Status Messages (Level AA) | Partially Supports | Met on the templates sampled by keyboard and screen reader, and by the automated scan. Not every template has had a manual pass yet. |
Table 3: Success Criteria, Level AAA
Not included in this report.
Legal disclaimer
This report describes the accessibility of Backed as assessed on the report date. It is provided for information and is not a warranty. Backed changes often, and conformance can change with it. “Voluntary Product Accessibility Template” and “VPAT” are registered service marks of the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI).
Download this report (PDF, 7 November 2026) · Back to the accessibility statement