diff --git a/website/assets/site.css b/website/assets/site.css
index ba85e21a..099c3917 100644
--- a/website/assets/site.css
+++ b/website/assets/site.css
@@ -2239,7 +2239,9 @@ footer a:hover, footer a:focus-visible { text-decoration: underline; }
     width: 100%; height: auto; display: block;
     border: 1px solid var(--line); border-radius: var(--radius);
 }
-.page-index .lede-shot figcaption { margin-top: 10px; font-size: 0.85rem; color: var(--text-3); }
+/* --text-3 measured 3.88:1 here, under WCAG AA. Captions carry real information,
+   so they take --text-2. */
+.page-index .lede-shot figcaption { margin-top: 10px; font-size: 0.85rem; color: var(--text-2); }
 
 /* --- capabilities, grouped into three clusters instead of ten equal cards --- */
 .page-index .caps { display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr); gap: 40px 36px; }
@@ -2282,11 +2284,15 @@ footer a:hover, footer a:focus-visible { text-decoration: underline; }
 .page-index .vs-head > div {
     padding: 16px 24px; font-size: 0.92rem; font-weight: 700; background: var(--bg-2);
 }
-.page-index .vs-head > div:first-child { color: var(--text-3); }
+/* The cloud column is the quieter half, but --text-3 measured 3.14:1 (head) and
+   3.57:1 (rows) against these backgrounds - under WCAG AA. The two sides are told
+   apart by the accent and the bold lead on the right, not by dimming one side
+   below the readability floor. */
+.page-index .vs-head > div:first-child { color: var(--text-2); }
 .page-index .vs-head > div:last-child { color: var(--blue-bright); }
 .page-index .vs-row { border-top: 1px solid var(--line-soft); }
 .page-index .vs-row > div { padding: 20px 24px; font-size: 0.97rem; line-height: 1.6; }
-.page-index .vs-row > div:first-child { color: var(--text-3); }
+.page-index .vs-row > div:first-child { color: var(--text-2); }
 .page-index .vs-row > div:last-child { color: var(--text-2); border-left: 1px solid var(--line-soft); }
 .page-index .vs-row strong { color: var(--text-1); font-weight: 600; }