Accessibility at Wicked Wanda's

Last reviewed: 07/16/2026

Everyone deserves a comfortable, private, judgement-free way to shop for pleasure. Wicked Wanda's is committed to making wickedwandas.ca usable by as many people as possible, regardless of ability, device, or assistive technology.

We are a small business, and we are being straightforward with you: our website is a work in progress where accessibility is concerned. We are actively working on it, we have not finished, and we would rather tell you that than publish a list of promises we cannot yet stand behind.

Our practical promise: if any part of wickedwandas.ca prevents you from doing something you want to do, contact us and we will help you do it another way — by phone, by email, or in person — while we work on the underlying fix. That commitment holds today, regardless of where the website itself stands.

Our conformance standard

We use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA as our target standard. WCAG is developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and is the benchmark referenced by accessibility legislation in Ontario and internationally.

As a small business, Wicked Wanda's is not legally required under Ontario's Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation to make our website conform to WCAG — that obligation applies to larger organizations. We are working toward it anyway, because the legal threshold and the right thing to do are not the same question.

Current status: working toward conformance. We have not completed a full accessibility audit of wickedwandas.ca, and we are not in a position to claim that every page, product listing, and feature meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Some parts of the site likely do. Others likely do not. Until we have tested properly, we are not going to guess in either direction.

We would rather say this plainly than publish a conformance claim we cannot support. Overstating accessibility helps nobody, least of all the people relying on it.

What we are working toward

The following describes the standards we are building toward across wickedwandas.ca. Some of this is already in place, some of it is in progress, and some of it we have not reached yet. We are listing it so you know what we are aiming at, not as a guarantee of what you will find today.

Navigation and structure

• A skip-to-content link so keyboard users can jump past the header and menu straight to the main content.
• A logical heading hierarchy on every page, so screen reader users can navigate by heading structure.
• Semantic landmark regions for header, navigation, main content, and footer.
• Consistent placement and behaviour of menus, search, and cart across the site.
• Breadcrumb trails on collection and product pages.
• Link text that makes sense out of context, rather than repeated "click here" or "read more" labels.

Keyboard access

• Full keyboard operation of menus, filters, product options, quantity selectors, accordions, the cart drawer, and checkout.
• A visible focus indicator showing which element currently has keyboard focus.
• Modal dialogs and the cart drawer that trap focus while open and return focus when closed.
• Dropdown menus that close with the Escape key.
• No part of the site requiring a mouse, hover, or specific timing to use.

Visual design

• Colour contrast meeting the WCAG AA minimums of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text and non-text elements.
• Colour never used as the only cue — where colour conveys information such as stock status, sale pricing, or form errors, text or an icon should carry the same meaning.
• Readable, usable layout when text is enlarged to 200% using browser zoom.
• Content that reflows to a single column on narrow screens and at high zoom, without horizontal scrolling.
• Animations and transitions that respect the reduced-motion setting in your operating system.
• No content that flashes more than three times per second.

Images and media

• Alternative text on product photographs describing the item, its material, and its notable physical features.
• Decorative images marked so screen readers skip them rather than announcing meaningless filenames.
• Captions and a text summary on any video we publish.

Forms and checkout

• A visible, programmatically associated label on every form field, rather than placeholder text alone.
• Required fields identified in text, not by colour or an unlabelled asterisk alone.
• Error messages that describe what went wrong and how to fix it, announced to assistive technology.
• Appropriate autocomplete attributes so browsers and password managers can fill fields.
• No time limit on completing checkout.

Content and language

• Product descriptions and guides written in plain, direct language, with anatomical or technical terms explained the first time they appear.
• Materials, dimensions, and lubricant compatibility stated in text rather than only in images or size-chart graphics.
• Page language declared in the markup so screen readers pronounce content correctly.

Assistive technology

We aim for wickedwandas.ca to work with current versions of the following, used with recent versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari:

• Screen readers — NVDA and JAWS on Windows, VoiceOver on macOS and iOS, TalkBack on Android.
• Magnification — browser zoom to 200% and beyond, plus operating system and third-party screen magnifiers.
• Voice control — Dragon NaturallySpeaking, Voice Control on Apple devices, and Voice Access on Android.
• Input devices — keyboard-only navigation, switch access, and alternative pointing devices.

We have not tested against every combination of these. If you use an assistive technology and encounter difficulty, please tell us — we would rather hear about it than assume everything works.

Where we know we fall short

We have not completed a formal audit, so this is not a complete list of our shortcomings — it is what we already know about. We would rather be upfront about it than let you discover it mid-purchase.

• Older product images — some legacy product photos have brief or generic alternative text, or none at all. We are rewriting these as we work through each collection.
• Supplier-provided media — many manufacturer images embed text such as size charts or feature callouts that screen readers cannot read. We are transcribing this information into product description text as we go.
• Customer reviews — review content is written by customers and may contain unclear formatting or text in images that we do not control.
• Third-party embeds — certain embedded apps and widgets are supplied by third parties whose accessibility we cannot directly modify.
• Archived blog posts — older articles predate our current content standards and may have inconsistent heading structure.
• Untested areas — parts of the site have not yet been reviewed for accessibility at all. We are working through them.

Found something not listed here? Please report it. Known issues become fixable issues, and a report from someone actually using the site is worth more to us than any automated scan.

Third-party content and platforms

Our online store runs on Shopify, and some functionality — including checkout, payment processing, and certain embedded apps — is provided by Shopify or other third parties. We do not control the underlying code of these components.

We choose vendors with accessibility in mind where we have the option, and we raise accessibility issues with them when we find them. If you encounter a barrier in checkout or another third-party component, please tell us anyway: we will pass it upstream, and in the meantime we can complete your order with you directly by phone or email.

Alternative ways to shop

If our website is not working for you, for any reason, you do not have to fight with it. We will help you order another way, with the same discretion you would get online. This is not a fallback we are embarrassed by — it is a normal way to shop with us.

• By phone — call us during business hours and a staff member will walk you through options, answer questions, and place the order for you.
• By email — describe what you are looking for and we will send product options, details, and a way to pay, in plain text if that suits you better.
• In person — visit our Ottawa store and our staff will help you find what you need.
• Product information in another format — need dimensions, materials, or instructions read out, sent as plain text, or in large print? Just ask.

We ship to any territory across Canada, and select items are available for local delivery within Ottawa. Discretion applies to every order regardless of how it is placed.

Our Ottawa store

This page covers our website, but accessibility does not stop at the browser. If you are planning to visit us in person and want to know about physical access, parking, doorway widths, washroom facilities, or anything else before you make the trip, contact us and we will describe the space honestly so you can decide.

Our staff are trained to serve customers with disabilities in a way that respects dignity, independence, and privacy. Service animals and support persons are welcome. If you would like assistance during your visit, or would prefer to be left to browse undisturbed, tell us — both are perfectly normal requests.

AODA and our accessibility commitments

Wicked Wanda's operates in Ontario and is subject to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) and the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation made under it. The following commitments reflect our obligations and our practice.

Our policy statement

Wicked Wanda's is committed to providing goods and services in a way that respects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities. We are committed to giving people with disabilities the same opportunity to access our goods and services, in the same place and in a similar way as other customers. This commitment applies to our physical premises, our website, our communications, and our employment practices.

Assistive devices, service animals and support persons

Customers are welcome to use their own assistive devices while accessing our goods and services.

Service animals are welcome on the parts of our premises open to the public. If a service animal is excluded by another law, we will explain why and offer another way for you to access our goods and services.

A person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person is welcome to have that person with them at all times on our premises.

Notice of service disruption

If a facility or service that people with disabilities rely on is temporarily disrupted, whether planned or otherwise, we will post notice including the reason, the expected duration, and any alternatives available. Notice will be posted at our premises and on our website where practical.

Training

Our staff receive training on accessible customer service, the requirements of the AODA and the Ontario Human Rights Code as it relates to persons with disabilities, and how to interact with people who use assistive devices, service animals, or support persons.

Accessible formats and communication supports

On request, we will provide information about our goods, services, and this accessibility policy in an accessible format or with communication support, in a timely manner and at no additional cost beyond our regular price. We will consult with you to determine what format or support works for you.

Feedback process

We welcome feedback on how we provide goods and services to people with disabilities. Feedback can be given by phone, email, or in person, and we will respond in the same format unless you ask otherwise. All feedback is reviewed by management. We aim to acknowledge accessibility feedback within five business days and to explain what action, if any, we intend to take.

Accessibility feedback and support

If you encounter a barrier on wickedwandas.ca, need information in a different format, or want to tell us how we are doing, please get in touch. Tell us what you were trying to do, what happened, and — if you can — what browser, device, or assistive technology you were using. Any detail helps; none of it is required.

• Email: info@wickedwandas.ca
• Phone: (613) 820-6032
• In person: 327 Bank Street Ottawa, ON K2P 1X9 , Ottawa, Ontario

We aim to acknowledge accessibility feedback within five business days. Feedback is reviewed by management and treated confidentially. You are not required to identify yourself or explain your disability to receive help.

How we are approaching this

Accessibility work at Wicked Wanda's is ongoing rather than finished:

• New page templates and theme changes are reviewed for keyboard operation, heading structure, and contrast before going live.
• New product listings receive alternative text and text-based specifications as standard.
• We are working backward through existing content to bring it up to the same standard.
• We use automated testing tools as a first pass, and manual keyboard and screen reader testing for what automated tools cannot catch — which is most of what actually matters.
• Reported barriers are prioritised by how much they block someone from completing a task.
• This page is reviewed and updated as our status changes.

A note on accessibility overlays

We do not use an accessibility overlay, widget, or toolbar on this site. Overlays are widely criticised by disabled users and accessibility practitioners for interfering with the assistive technology people already have configured, while leaving the underlying barriers in place. We would rather do the slower work of fixing the site itself.

Further resources

• W3C Web Accessibility Initiative — WCAG overview
• Accessibility in Ontario — Government of Ontario
• Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005

This statement applies to wickedwandas.ca and is published by WW Inc. It was last reviewed on 07/16/2026.