WCAG

WCAG Guidelines Explained

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What Does WCAG Stand For?
The Different Versions of WCAG
The WCAG Principles
The Levels of WCAG Compliance
Common WCAG Failures
Why WCAG Compliance Matters
Automated Tools Cannot Guarantee Compliance
How We Help You Meet WCAG

What Does WCAG Stand For?

WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. These guidelines are developed by the World Wide Web Consortium, or W3C, an international organisation dedicated to setting standards for the web to ensure it is open and accessible for everyone. The primary aim of WCAG is to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities, including those with visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities.

Accessibility means designing web content in a way that all users can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with it effectively. This is essential not only for compliance with laws but also for delivering an inclusive experience where nobody is left behind because of how a website is built or designed.

The Different Versions of WCAG

WCAG has gone through several versions to keep up with technological advancements and the growing understanding of accessibility needs:

WCAG 1.0 was released in 1999. It laid the foundation for accessibility on the web but became quickly outdated as web technologies evolved rapidly.
WCAG 2.0, published in 2008, was a major update that introduced more technology-neutral guidelines. It made the standards more adaptable to different devices, browsers, and assistive technologies.
WCAG 2.1 came in 2018, adding new criteria to improve accessibility for mobile device users and people with cognitive or learning disabilities, addressing gaps that were not fully covered before.
WCAG 2.2, released in 2023, includes further improvements, particularly to help people with low vision and cognitive impairments. It refines existing success criteria and adds new ones to reflect real-world user needs better.

WCAG 2.2: The Universal Standard for Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 is quickly becoming the universal standard, especially for organisations needing to comply with legal requirements such as the European Accessibility Act and other global accessibility laws.

This version focuses heavily on improving accessibility for people with low vision, cognitive disabilities, and mobility impairments. Some of the key new or updated success criteria include:

Focus Appearance: Enhancements require a more visible focus indicator on interactive elements like buttons and links, making keyboard navigation clearer and easier for users with limited vision or motor control.
Dragging Movements: Websites should offer alternative methods to drag-and-drop actions, helping users who cannot perform precise drag gestures.
Hidden Controls: Controls that appear on hover or focus must be operable and discoverable by keyboard users, ensuring no important functionality is hidden from those who rely on keyboard or assistive technology navigation.
Target Size and Spacing: Clickable targets such as buttons and links should be large enough and spaced adequately, reducing accidental activations and improving usability for users with motor difficulties.
Accessible Authentication: Login or authentication processes should provide accessible alternatives to captchas or complex gestures that can block people with disabilities.

Meeting WCAG 2.2 AA standards is now the benchmark for accessibility audits and remediation projects. Organisations focusing only on older standards risk non-compliance and missing the needs of many users.

Beyond legal risk mitigation, WCAG 2.2 AA compliance ensures your website works well for everyone, improving usability and overall satisfaction.

The WCAG Principles: POUR

The core of WCAG is based on four fundamental principles, often abbreviated as POUR. These principles explain what it means for content to be accessible:

Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presented in ways users can perceive. For example, text alternatives must be provided for non-text content so that it can be transformed into formats people need, such as large print, braille, speech, or symbols.
Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable. This means users must be able to interact with all controls using various input methods, such as keyboard navigation or voice commands. Content should not cause seizures or physical reactions.
Understandable: Information and the operation of the user interface must be understandable. The content should be clear and simple to comprehend, and web pages should behave in predictable ways to avoid confusion.
Robust: Content must be robust enough to be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. This ensures compatibility with current and future technologies.

Every guideline and success criterion within WCAG fits under one of these four pillars, making them essential to building truly accessible websites.

The Levels of WCAG Compliance

WCAG defines three levels of compliance, which indicate the extent to which accessibility requirements are met:

Level A: This is the minimum level of conformance and addresses the most basic accessibility features. Achieving Level A fixes the most critical barriers preventing some users from accessing web content.
Level AA: This is the standard level required by many laws and regulations, including the European Accessibility Act. Level AA addresses a wider range of issues and improves overall usability for a majority of users.
Level AAA: This is the highest and most thorough level of accessibility. While admirable, it is often not practical to achieve across entire websites due to the complexity and potential conflicts with design goals.

Most organisations aim to comply with Level AA, as it balances practicality and legal requirements effectively.

Level A Requirements

Every image must have a descriptive text alternative so screen readers can convey the information.
Videos require transcripts for those who cannot hear the audio.
Colour must not be the only way information is conveyed, ensuring users with colour vision deficiencies can access content.
Web pages must be fully navigable using a keyboard alone, without requiring a mouse.
All form fields must have clear labels that screen readers can identify and announce.

Level AA Requirements

Text and background colour contrast must meet minimum standards for readability.
Videos must have accurate captions for users who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Navigation must be consistent and predictable throughout the website.
Links must make sense out of context to help users understand their purpose when using assistive technologies.
Users must be able to resize text up to 200 percent without loss of content or functionality.
Note on WCAG 2.2 AA: These requirements now also include enhanced focus visibility, accessible drag operations, better control discovery, and improved target sizes to meet the needs of users with disabilities more effectively.

Level AAA Requirements

All videos must include sign language interpretation for users who rely on it.
Extended audio descriptions are provided for videos to explain visual content.
No time limits are placed on any part of the user experience unless essential.
Background audio is either absent or can be turned off by the user.
All functionality is accessible via keyboard with no exceptions.

Common WCAG Failures

Despite the clear guidelines, many websites still face common accessibility issues that prevent users from fully engaging with content:

Missing alt text on images: Without descriptive text, screen readers cannot convey what the image represents.
Poor colour contrast: Text or interface elements that do not stand out from their background can be unreadable to users with low vision or colour blindness.
Forms without labels: Screen reader users cannot understand what information is requested without properly labelled form fields.
Lack of keyboard access: Users who cannot use a mouse are unable to navigate or interact with websites that require pointer input.
Inaccessible menus: Complex or improperly coded menus can trap keyboard users or confuse screen reader users.
Auto-playing media: Audio or video that plays without user control can interfere with assistive technology or cause distraction.
Links that do not make sense out of context: Users navigating via screen readers or lists need links that clearly describe their destination or action.

These failures can often be fixed with straightforward changes, significantly improving the user experience.

Why WCAG Compliance Matters

WCAG compliance is not just about avoiding legal penalties. It is fundamentally about inclusion and respect. By making your website accessible, you ensure that people with disabilities can access your services, information, and products without barriers.

This sends a strong message about your organisation’s values and commitment to diversity. Moreover, accessibility improvements often enhance the experience for all users, including those using mobile devices, older technology, or in challenging environments.

Search engines reward accessible websites by ranking them higher in search results, making compliance beneficial for business visibility and growth.

Automated Tools Cannot Guarantee Compliance

There is a common misconception that automated tools, browser plugins, or accessibility overlays can fix accessibility problems instantly. This is not true.

Real WCAG compliance requires correct coding, design considerations, and thorough testing by actual users, including disabled people who use assistive technology such as screen readers, magnifiers, and voice control.

Automated checkers can only identify approximately 20 percent of potential issues. The majority of accessibility barriers require human judgement and live testing to detect and resolve.

How We Help You Meet WCAG

We provide a full accessibility audit service that includes testing by disabled users, capturing video recordings of their experiences, and detailed reports explaining issues clearly.

Following this, we create a valid Accessibility Statement that meets legal requirements and outlines the steps you are taking to improve your website.

We then offer a practical roadmap to help you achieve full WCAG compliance over time, reducing legal risk, protecting your brand, and ensuring your website is welcoming and usable by everyone.