Skip to main content

Soundtrap Web Accessibility Statement

The University of Leeds is committed to making its digital estate accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Soundtrap is a cloud-based audio recording and editing tool, used by the University for podcasting assessments.

This statement applies to accessibility within the system itself, and does not cover uploaded course content. Additional relevant information may be highlighted in module-specific accessibility statements within Minerva. Accessibility statements for other integrated tools are available via the Accessibility Statements for Digital Education Systems page.

Compliance status

Soundtrap is compliant and has been designed and developed in accordance with the internationally standard Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA standard, excepting the isues listed below.

Accessibility within Soundtrap

Soundtrap supports the use of screen readers, keyboard and swipe navigation, and speech recognition software. Adjustable browser settings for magnification are supported as well as colours, contrast and fonts. Soundtrap is designed for use within Chrome-based web browsers, with reduced performance in other browsers. Testing has been done across multiple browsers but for best experience we recommend using the Chrome browser in either Mac or Windows, or the Soundtrap app in iOS or Android.

Screen readers

The studio’s built-in musical typing functionality assigns musical notes to the letters and numbers on the keyboard which interferes with screen reader shortcut features. This can be disabled by going to Settings, then Keyboard, and disabling musical typing.

Keyboard navigation and shortcuts

Industry standard keyboard interactions are used throughout to move between menus, open menus, and select items within a menu. Keyboard navigation patterns differ between browsers such as Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome. The interactions within any particular browser are common and consistent. The space key and the enter key function as keyboard shortcuts for other studio functionality. These are disabled by first using tab or shift+tab to initiate keyboard-only navigation. Further guidance is available on Soundtrap’s Keyboard shortcuts webpage.

Voice controls

Soundtrap is developed and tested internally using Dragon Naturally Speaking. Soundtrap’s Terminologies and Functionalities guidance includes specific terms for their tools relevant for voice control users.

Non-accessible Content

Areas of non-compliance

Info and Relationships

Track selection icons in the track header pane do not have programatically defined labels. These controls bring focus to a specific track as well as open the instrument control panel. Audio clips within the workstation will have broken ARIA labels due to missing label attributes unless clips are manually named by the user. These fail success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).

The search tool in the Projects page also lacks a label and is not programatically-linked with the Projects list. Search functions as expected, with results being successfully announced, with an ARIA label provided as an alternative description.

Colour Contrast

Colour contrast for the borders of some instrument controls, as well as where instrument settings (such as pan) are set to zero is insufficient. This fails success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Level A).

Reflow

Some text fields within the Projects list (table headings, folder details) overlap with other text at higher levels of zoom, causing both sections to be illegible. This fails success criterion 1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA).

Keyboard

Side panel controls for Sound Library, Collaborators, Comments, etc are not accessible with standard keyboard navigation except when the Show Instrument pane is expanded. When minimised, focus is constrained to the timeline and track selector only. Users can use landmarks to effectively navigate between sections as a workaround.

Navigating sub-menus within the Projects list page (such as Options > Move to Folder) is inconsistent with keyboard-only navigation, often causing keyboard navigation to fail, or failing to be announced by screen readers.

These fail success criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A).

Focus Order

Keyboard focus order does not align with a meaningful reading order or visually with the page within the recording workstation. Users need to navigate past filters and effects in the footer before reaching navigational controls in the play area. Keyboard focus also moves to the beginning of the page after closing some dialogues. This fails success criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A).

Language of Page

Changing the language selection in settings does not adjust the page language away from English, meaning mispronunciations are likely to occur for non-English assistive technology users. Many objects and tools are also not fully translated. As such we do not recommend changing from the default language. This fails success criterion 3.1.1 Language of Page (Level A).

Predictable On Focus

Instrument sound settings such as filter levels are controlled with standard arrow keys when selected. This however simultaneously moves clips within the main recording area forwards and backwards along atrack despite focus being constrained to the setting control. This fails success criterion 3.2.1 On Focus (Level A).

Out of scope of legislation

Due to design limitations for digital audio editing within a timeline, restricting horizontal scrolling of content is not possible. Full musical keyboard functionality for digital instruments also limit accessibility of touch controls and adaptive orientation, limiting the system’s ability to fully comply with criteria such as dragging movements, pointer cancellation and target size. These failures are specific only to where they are out of scope of legislation and not found elsewhere in the system.

Advisory Issues

Text Size

At higher zoom levels several features (new track, import file and invite collaborators) become unreachable or partially obscured within the main recording workstation. These features remain available within the main settings menu as an alternative.

What we are doing about known issues

University of Leeds is committed to improving accessibility across all our sites. Where issues are identified we will work to warn users and provide alternatives, while working with our vendors to enact continuous improvements. Web accessibility statements are developed through testing within the Digital Education Service in collaboration with University IT and reviewed annually.

Preparation of the statement

This statement was prepared on 3rd September 2026.

Auditing and testing was led by self-assessment from the Digital Education Service Systems Team. Testing is undertaken internally using Voiceover and NVDA screen readers and browser-based accessibility tools in Chrome, Safari and Firefox.

Feedback and Contact Info

If you would like more information, find any problems not listed in this statement, or feel we're not meeting your accessibility needs, please contact the Digital Education Systems Team via the IT Service Desk.

via web: Open an IT ticket on the University IT website
by phone: Call the IT Service Desk on 0113 343 3333

If you encounter issues accessing learning content, please also contact your School in the first instance.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your concerns, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).