Legal · Last updated 11 November 2026
Accessibility
We want everyone to be able to learn from Our Centuries. This page says honestly how well the site works today, and what to do if it doesn't work for you.
The short version
- We aim for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, level AA.
- Every page is ordinary text with proper headings, and every picture has a text description or the same facts in the text beside it.
- Animation is calm, follows your device’s reduced-motion setting, and can be switched off with the Motion button at the foot of every page.
- If something doesn’t work for you, email hello@fallinghippo.com with “Accessibility” in the subject. We reply within 5 working days.
1. Our commitment
Our Centuries is an educational site, used by pupils, teachers and readers of every age, so being usable by as many people as possible matters more than it would on most sites. FALLINGHIPPO LIMITED, which runs it, also has duties under the Equality Act 2010 not to put disabled people at a disadvantage.
2. How accessible the site is
- Reading. Pages are ordinary HTML with headings in order, lists, tables with headers, and a link to skip to the content.
- Pictures. Every map, chart and diagram has a text description, and the facts it shows are also in the text or in a table next to it.
- Colour and contrast. Body text and labels meet the WCAG AA contrast ratio of 4.5 to 1 against their backgrounds. Colour is never the only way something is shown: debated dates are drawn dashed as well as coloured.
- Zoom and reflow. Layouts follow the window from a wide screen to a phone 320 pixels wide without sideways scrolling.
- Keyboard. Everything that can be clicked can be reached and used with the keyboard, with a visible focus outline.
- Motion. Animations are slow and short. If your device asks for reduced motion, the site keeps still. The Motion button at the foot of each page turns animation on or off for this site only.
- No time limits, no sound, no flashing.
3. What we have checked
On 11 November 2026 we ran an automated check (axe-core) against WCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 levels A and AA on every page, at desktop and phone widths, and checked each page by keyboard and with reduced motion turned on. Automated checks find only some problems, so we will add testing with screen readers and with people who use them.
4. What doesn’t work yet
- The zooming timeline on “How long is human history?” changes as you scroll. A screen reader reads the steps as ordinary text, which carries the same facts, but the moving line itself is described only in summary.
- The stencil drawing on “The first hands” is a canvas picture. It has a text description, and the method is explained in the text beside it.
5. Tell us about a problem
If you can’t use part of the site, find something confusing, or think we have got something wrong here, email hello@fallinghippo.com with “Accessibility” in the subject. Please tell us the page, what you were trying to do and what you use to browse. We reply within 5 working days.
6. If you’re not happy with our reply
The Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) can advise you. Its website is equalityadvisoryservice.com.
7. Technical information
Our Centuries is built with HTML, CSS and a small amount of JavaScript. Every page can be read with JavaScript turned off; only the animations and the two switches need it. It works in current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari.
- 11 November 2026. First version.