Get around SquirrelScore with keyboard, screen readers, and other assistive tools more comfortably - and know what to tell your admin if something goes awry.
- Use a modern browser with your usual assistive technology enabled
- Know whether you're on phone or desktop (sidebar behavior differs a bit)
- Have a way to contact your site admin for site-wide fixes
We'll take a look at moving around with the keyboard.
- Load a SquirrelScore page while logged in.
- Press Tab to move forward through links and fields; Shift+Tab to move back.
- Use Enter or Space to activate buttons and links as your browser normally does.
- On mobile layouts, open the sidebar with the menu control; press Escape to close it again.
- Watch for alert / flash messages after you save - those announce success or problems.
// Chris - To Do: Screenshot of Skip to main content
// Chris - To Do: Screenshot of Alert-style flash message
- Note the page title and what you were trying to do.
- Note your browser, device, and assistive tech (for example VoiceOver, NVDA, TalkBack).
- A screenshot or description of the barrier is very helpful.
- Send that package to your site admin (and producer if it's while using contest-specific content).
- Skip to main content link for keyboard users
- Alert-style flash messages after saves and errors
- Escape closes the mobile sidebar so focus isn't trapped in the menu forever
- Role-based menus that keep pages simpler (you only see tools for your job)
- Increase browser zoom if score fields feel tiny - SquirrelScore is a website, so zoom is fair game.
- Prefer descriptive link text when you tell someone where to click ("open Judging Sections") instead of "click here."
- High-contrast device modes help in dark venues; pair with the phone brightness tips in Mobile usage.
- Tell your producer or admin as early as possible - that way, if there are issues, they can be addressed/corrected before the contest weekend.
- Assuming a missing button is an accessibility bug when it's actually a role or lock restriction
- Closing flash messages before reading them
- Using only the browser back button - prefer the sidebar landmarks
Can I change the site's colors myself?
End users can't restyle the site, though OS/browser contrast and zoom settings still help you personally.
Do public apply forms work with assistive tech?
They're standard web forms with labels and uploads.
Who fixes accessibility issues?
Site admins. Contest wording issues go to producers.