Virtual tours built to WCAG 2.1 AA as standard. AAA where it’s needed.
We build every new virtual tour to a WCAG 2.1 AA standard by default. Where AAA is the right answer, we deliver to that.
Accessibility isn’t a layer we add at the end or a widget we drop in. It’s a decision we make at the brief stage and a discipline carried through every stage of production.
What goes into an accessible virtual tour?
There are two halves to this. The first is the build itself, which is where our defaults do the work. The second is the deliverables you commission, which is where your project decisions shape the finished standard.
Built into every new tour
Keyboard-friendly navigation. Screen reader support. Semantic structure and proper focus management. Contrast-aware interface components. Sensible defaults for motion and animation. Text alternatives for interface elements.
These aren’t optional extras. They’re how we build.
Commissioned per project
Subtitles and captions for embedded video. BSL interpretation. Audio descriptions and transcripts. Alt text for tour content. Contrast-checked colour palettes. Plain-language content. The option of multilingual delivery.
These shape what your finished tour can claim. Some accessibility outcomes depend on choices only you can make, and they sit in the brief, not the build. We’ll cost them transparently and flag where leaving something out affects compliance. The decisions are yours.
Where accessibility is central to the brief, we go further, including parallel routes through the content for users who need or prefer them. Talk to us if that’s relevant to your project.
Choosing between AA and AAA
AA is the right level for most commercial projects, and it’s built into every new tour we deliver.
AAA goes further: stricter contrast, fuller content alternatives, deeper testing, and where appropriate, an independent pre-build accessibility audit. It takes more time and costs more, but for public bodies, charities, heritage sites and education clients, it’s often the right answer. We’ll help you decide what’s right for your brief.
Why we don’t use accessibility overlays or widgets
Some virtual tour companies offer accessibility overlays that claim to solve compliance with one line of code. They don’t. They sit on top of a tour that wasn’t built for accessibility and present a compliance illusion. Worse, they routinely interfere with the assistive technologies real users already rely on.
We don’t use them. We build the tour properly instead.
Read more about why overlays and widgets fall short here.
British Sign Language in virtual tours
Virtual tours are visual by nature, but they often include written content: pop-ups, voiceovers, video. For users who communicate in British Sign Language, we can incorporate on-screen BSL interpretation where it’s needed.
This matters more than people sometimes realise. English is a second or even third language for many deaf people, and large amounts of written text or subtitling can be difficult to follow. BSL is an interpretation rather than a direct translation, and getting it right takes thought.
If your tour includes content that would benefit from BSL interpretation, talk to us about how to deliver it well.
Virtual tours as an accessibility tool in their own right
A well-made virtual tour is already an accessibility tool. It opens up spaces that may otherwise be closed to many people, including heritage sites where ramps and lifts aren’t possible, working environments like cleanrooms, and private areas that the public can’t access.
In our virtual tour of St Magnus the Martyr, for instance, visitors can explore the Bell Tower in detail, even though the narrow winding stairs make it physically impossible for many people to reach.
Virtual tours help make these spaces available to everyone, regardless of physical access.
A note on our older portfolio
Some of our older virtual tours predate the WCAG 2.1 AA standard we now build to. We’ve kept them online because the work is strong and the projects matter. Anything we make for you today is a different proposition.
Ready to talk?
Accessibility decisions are commercial decisions. For some clients AAA is essential. For others, AA is the right balance. For a few, brand or design considerations will lead them to skip certain deliverables. We’ll let you know what affects accessibility as we go.
Tell us about your project, and we’ll come back within one working day.
Questions? We’ve got the answers.
We build every new tour to WCAG 2.1 AA by default. Where the brief calls for it, we can deliver to AAA. “Fully accessible” isn’t a single fixed thing in the way it’s sometimes implied, so we’re specific instead: we tell you the standard we’re building to, and we tell you what affects it.
WCAG 2.1. AA as standard, AAA where it’s required.
AA is the level that most commercial sites and tours aim for, and the level most public-sector accessibility law actually requires. It covers core navigation, screen reader support, sensible contrast (4.5:1 for normal text), audio descriptions, and text alternatives for visual content.
AAA adds further requirements on top: stricter contrast at 7:1 for normal text, sign language interpretation for prerecorded video, extended audio descriptions where standard ones don’t fit, full text alternatives for video, and tighter rules on timing and navigation. The W3C itself doesn’t recommend AAA as a blanket standard for whole sites, because some criteria can’t always be met. But for specific projects, particularly where the audience makes it the right call, AAA is achievable and worth delivering to. We help you decide what’s right for your brief.
Yes. In fact, that’s the only way it can be. Overlays and widgets don’t make a tour compliant. They sit over the top of one that wasn’t built for accessibility, and they often interfere with the assistive technology users already have set up. AAA conformance is the result of building the tour properly from the start, commissioning the right content alternatives, and where appropriate, validating it through an external audit. It’s the harder route, but it’s the only one that actually delivers.
AAA takes more time at each stage: tighter content alternatives, deeper contrast and navigation testing, and often an independent accessibility audit. The cost difference depends on the size and complexity of the tour. For most clients, AA is the right level. We’ll talk you through where AAA earns its place.
Some clients commission embedded video without subtitles, choose brand colours that fall short on contrast, or for reasons of design or budget skip deliverables like BSL interpretation, transcripts or descriptive audio. We won’t refuse the work. We’ll flag the decisions that affect accessibility and suggest alternatives where there’s an obvious one. The call is yours.
In many regions, public institutions and businesses are expected to provide accessible digital experiences. Even where it isn’t strictly mandatory, it’s good practice and the right thing to do.
Yes. We can work with you to understand what your project needs to meet, whether that’s WCAG 2.1 AA, AAA, or sector-specific guidance, and plan your virtual tour accordingly.
Beyond compliance, it’s the right thing to do. It demonstrates respect for your audience, it broadens who can experience your space, and it tends to result in a better tour for everyone, not just the people who need the accessibility features most.
Yes, in two ways. First, a well-built virtual tour opens up spaces that are physically difficult or impossible for many people to visit, including heritage sites with stairs, restricted-access industrial environments, or buildings without lifts.
Second, when the tour itself is built to WCAG 2.1 AA or above, the digital experience is accessible too: keyboard-navigable, screen-reader-friendly, with content alternatives for users who can’t or prefer not to use the panoramic interface. Both together make virtual tours a powerful accessibility tool in their own right.