In short. DESK should be usable by everyone, including with a keyboard, a screen reader or a
large zoom. We aim for level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1). DESK partly
meets it: the points below say what works and what does not yet. As a micro-enterprise, DESK is not bound by the
German Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG, § 3 (3)); we do this anyway.
1. What works
- Contrast and labels. Every page of the website and every area of the app is checked
automatically with axe-core for WCAG 2.1 A and AA, in dark and in light mode.
- Keyboard. Areas, tabs and functions can be reached with the keyboard; press
? in DESK for the list of shortcuts. Windows and guided tours take the focus when they open, keep it
inside while they are open and give it back when they close. Tiles and cards that open something react to
Enter and the space bar.
- Charts. The time-series charts (Macro, Crypto, Radar, companies, portfolio) have a text description for screen readers: how many values, which
period, and the latest, highest and lowest value. Under Settings › Appearance › “Charts as tables” (also offered
when you set up your account) each of them gets a small “As table” button with all values.
- Maps. The world maps of the Macro Terminal show the same values as a ranked table next to
the map.
- Zoom. DESK can be enlarged to 200 % in the browser; the layout then switches to a narrower
arrangement instead of cutting content off.
- Video. The short videos on the data and explainer pages (from DESK’s YouTube channel) load only when you click and start with captions on where YouTube has them; the CC button in the player turns them off. The screen recording on the Macro Terminal page has no sound, so it needs no captions; it can be paused.
2. What does not work yet
- A few special charts (for example the conflict casualty chart and the charts in reports) only have a title, no table yet.
- Arranging widgets on the custom dashboard by drag and drop needs a mouse or touch screen.
- Charts and widgets from TradingView are embedded from another provider; their accessibility is outside our
control.
- PDF files (weekly reports, invoices) are not yet tagged for screen readers. The same content is available as
text in DESK.
- Images in the community are posted by members and usually have no description.
3. Tell us about a barrier
If something in DESK does not work for you, write to [email protected]
or use the support form. Please say which page and what you were trying to do. We will fix what
we can and tell you what we did.
4. How this statement was made
By our own testing on 20 October 2026: automatic checks with axe-core on all public pages and every area of the
app, in dark and light mode, and manual tests with keyboard only and at 200 % zoom.