Accessibility statement

By Reggie J·Updated October 6, 2026

Words at Rest is made for adults and seniors, many of whom read with tired eyes, use a phone or tablet, or rely on browser zoom. We want every puzzle to be comfortable to read and play. This page explains what works today, what does not work yet, and how to tell us about a problem.

Our goal: WCAG 2.2 Level AA

We aim to meet the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at Level AA — for example the contrast minimum of 4.5:1 for normal text, and text that can be resized to 200 percent without losing content. We have not had an independent audit, and the site does not fully meet that goal yet; the known gaps are listed below.

Large print

• Every puzzle has a Large print button above the grid. It makes the letters 50% bigger on phones (16px to 24px) and nearly twice as big on larger screens (20px to 36px), and enlarges the word list. Your choice is remembered in your browser.
• We also publish 5 dedicated large print puzzles: a smaller 9×9 grid with eight words that read only across or down.

Text size and zoom

Text sizes are set in relative units, so your browser’s text-size setting and zoom both work. Pages reflow to a single column on narrow screens; at 320 pixels wide (the equivalent of 400% zoom on a laptop) there is no sideways scrolling.

Color and contrast

The site uses dark ink on a warm paper background. Body text has a contrast ratio of about 13:1, secondary text about 6.6:1 and links about 6.7:1 — all above the 4.5:1 WCAG minimum. Found words are highlighted in the grid with a color and also crossed out in the word list, so color is not the only signal.

Keyboard

All links and buttons — the main menu, the Large print and Reset buttons, and the footer — can be reached with the Tab key and show a clear orange focus outline. A “Skip to content” link appears on the first Tab press.

Not yet supported: selecting letters in the grid with the keyboard. Finding a word currently needs a mouse, touchscreen or pen (drag across the word, or tap its first and last letters). Keyboard selection is the top item on our accessibility to-do list.

Screen readers

The letter grid is marked up as a grid of rows and cells, so a screen reader can read it letter by letter, and the word list is a normal list. The “found” counter above the grid is announced when it changes. Because words cannot yet be selected without a pointer, the puzzles are not fully playable with a screen reader alone, and found words in the list are shown crossed out without a spoken label. We have not yet completed testing with VoiceOver, TalkBack or NVDA.

Phones and tap targets

• Main menu links and puzzle buttons are at least 40 pixels tall.
• You can tap the first letter and then the last letter of a word instead of dragging, which is easier with a shaky hand or a small screen.
• Grid letters are smaller than that on a phone. On a typical 390-pixel-wide phone a letter square is about 34px on easy puzzles, 29px on medium and 23px on hard. If that is too small, try a large print puzzle (about 38px), an easy puzzle, or a tablet.
• Nothing flashes, there is no sound, and there are no countdown timers.

Known issues

• No keyboard selection of words in the grid (see above).
• Found words are not announced in the word list by screen readers.
• Crossed-out words in the word list are shown in a lighter color with a contrast of about 2.5:1, below the 4.5:1 minimum.
• Grid letter squares on medium and hard puzzles are below 40px on small phones.

Report a problem

If something is hard to read or use, please tell us through our contact page or email hello@wordsatrest.com with “Accessibility” in the subject. It helps to include the page address, your device and browser, and any assistive technology you use. Reggie J reads every message.

This statement was last reviewed on October 6, 2026.