We have prepared a clear and concise overview of WCAG to help you understand its principles and get started.
WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. These guidelines are developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities.
They are essential for ensuring that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can access and interact with any digital content. That is why WCAG is based on POUR principles, which stand for Perceivable, Operable, Understandable and Robust, and are intended to show that websites and digital platforms need to present their content in multiple formats.
WCAG is built on four main principles. Often abbreviated as POUR, they individually explain what people working with digital products and services should look at when thinking about digital accessibility.
Content must be presented in ways that users can perceive. A good example of this principle is providing text alternatives for non-text content, such as images and videos, creating adaptable options to communicate with different audiences in the same meaningful way.
User interface components and navigation must be operable. This means making all functionality available from a keyboard, giving users enough time to read and navigate through your content, and not designing content in a way that is known to cause seizures.
Information and the operation of the user interface must be understandable. This involves making text readable and understandable, ensuring web pages appear and operate in predictable ways, and helping users avoid and correct mistakes.
Content must be robust enough to be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. This means using clean and consistent HTML code, applying ARIA-labels when necessary, and utilise other methods that can be reliably processed by assistive tools.
WCAG compliance is divided into three levels, each one containing a set of success criteria to be achieved.
The most basic web accessibility features. At this minimum level, websites must meet these requirements to ensure that at least the main barriers that exist online aren’t present on your website, making it usable for people with disabilities.
This level deals with the biggest and most common barriers for disabled users, which negatively impact user experience. This is the level most organisations aim to meet for digital accessibility.
The highest and most complex level of web accessibility. Because it involves complex requirements, it is not always possible to meet this level for all content.
Currently, the version used by most regulations is WCAG 2.1. However, it’s important to note that some laws are incorporating WCAG 2.2 version as a recommendation, and others as a requirement, such as the Equality Act 2010 in the UK. The main difference between the two versions is that WCAG 2.2 introduces nine additional success criteria.
It’s essential to keep in mind that WCAG is constantly being reviewed and sometimes reformulated. Version 3.0, for example, is already being developed.
Accessibility is not just a legal requirement; it’s a moral obligation. Ensuring your website adheres to WCAG:
Accessible websites reach a wider audience, including people with disabilities.
Many accessibility practices also improve search engine optimisation.
Accessible design often enhances the overall user experience.
Compliance with accessibility laws and regulations protects your business from legal action.
Our team is here to offer guidance and practical support to help ensure your products are accessible and meet legal requirements.
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