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Accessible
Who Creates Web Content Accessibility Guidelines?
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are created and maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international community that develops open standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web.
W3C is composed of various stakeholders, including web developers, designers, accessibility experts, browser vendors, and organizations interested in promoting web accessibility. The WCAG Working Group within the W3C is responsible for developing and updating the WCAG standards, which are designed to provide guidance and technical specifications for making web content more accessible to people with disabilities.
Understanding WCAG guidelines
Understanding and following web accessibility standards is the foundation for creating an inclusive website. The WCAG guidelines set by the W3C serve as the international benchmark for achieving accessibility. By adhering to WCAG’s guidelines, you’ll be well on your way to crafting a website that everyone can use and enjoy.
WCAG organizes its success criteria into four core principles: POUR (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust).
Each principle outlines specific steps to ensure your website is accessible to users with a wide range of disabilities. Remember, creating an accessible website isn’t just about ticking boxes; it’s about creating a positive user experience for everyone. By following WCAG’s guidelines, you’ll be opening the door to a wider audience and fostering a more inclusive online environment.
Closer look into the WCAG principles
Let us dive a little deeper into the four underlying principles of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
The Perceivable Principle
The cornerstone of web accessibility is ensuring information is presented in a way that everyone can perceive, regardless of their abilities. This is where the Perceivable principle comes in. It’s the first pillar of the WCAG guidelines, laying the groundwork for an inclusive user experience.
The Perceivable principle essentially states that all information and user interface components on your website must be detectable through a user's senses. This means catering to people with visual, auditory, cognitive, and motor impairments. Here's what that entails:
Alternatives for Non-Text Content: Imagine someone who can't see images – the Perceivable principle requires providing descriptive text alternatives (alt text) for all images. This ensures screen reader users can understand the content of the image.
Color Contrast and Readability: Low color contrast between text and background can strain anyone's eyes, but especially those with visual impairments. The Perceivable principle mandates sufficient contrast ratios for text to be easily readable.
Adaptable and Distinguishable Content: People may need to adjust font size or use magnification tools. The Perceivable principle ensures your website can adapt to these needs without compromising content or functionality.
Alternatives for Time-Based Media: Videos and animations can be engaging, but they leave blind or deaf users out. The Perceivable principle encourages providing captions and transcripts for videos and audio descriptions for animations.
The Operable Principle
Web accessibility isn’t just about presenting information clearly; it’s also about ensuring users can interact with that information effectively. This is where the Operable principle steps in. As the second pillar of WCAG, it focuses on making user interfaces functional for everyone.
The Operable principle emphasizes that all functionalities on your website must be operable with various input methods, not just a mouse. This caters to users with motor impairments who might rely on keyboards, screen readers, or assistive technologies. Here are some key aspects of the Operable principle:
Keyboard Accessibility: Not everyone can use a mouse with ease. The Operable principle mandates that all website functions, from navigation to form submission, must be achievable using just a keyboard. This includes clear focus indicators and logical navigation flow when users tab through elements.
Sufficient Time for Interaction: Some users may require more time to read and interact with content. The Operable principle discourages time-based interactions unless essential, and if used, they should be adjustable or offer a way to pause or disable the timer.
Avoiding Seizures: Flashing content can trigger seizures in users with epilepsy. The Operable principle discourages using content that flashes more than three times per second.
Predictable and Consistent Navigation: Imagine getting lost in a maze on a website. The Operable principle encourages clear and consistent navigation structures that make sense and don't change unexpectedly. This allows users to anticipate how the website functions and navigate it efficiently.
The Understandable Principle
Web accessibility isn't just about presenting information clearly and ensuring users can interact with it; it's also about making sure everyone can understand that information. This is where the Understandable principle comes into play. As the third pillar of WCAG, it focuses on making your website's content and functionalities clear and easy to grasp for a diverse audience.
The Understandable principle emphasizes that the information and the way users interact with your website should be readily understandable, minimizing the need for extra effort or interpretation. This caters to users with cognitive disabilities, learning disabilities, and those with limited literacy skills. Here's what the Understandable principle entails:
Clear and Concise Content: Complex sentences, jargon, and technical terms can be confusing for many users. The Understandable principle encourages using plain language, breaking down complex information into smaller chunks, and defining technical terms where necessary.
Predictable Website Behavior: Imagine a website that behaves erratically – it can be frustrating for anyone. The Understandable principle emphasizes consistent and predictable behavior throughout the website. Users should be able to anticipate how things will work based on their past experiences with the site.
Input Assistance: Filling out forms can be tricky, especially for users with motor impairments or cognitive limitations. The Understandable principle encourages features like error prevention (e.g., highlighting incorrect fields) and clear error messages that provide guidance for correction.
Minimizing Errors: Confusing interfaces and unclear instructions can lead to user errors. The Understandable principle promotes minimizing the potential for errors by providing clear instructions, using logical layouts, and offering helpful suggestions or error prevention mechanisms.
The Robust principle
Web accessibility isn't just about immediate usability; it's also about ensuring your website remains accessible in the long run and across different technologies. This is where the Robust principle comes in. As the final pillar of WCAG, it focuses on making your website's content future-proof and compatible with a wide range of user agents and assistive technologies.
The Robust principle emphasizes that your website's underlying code and content should be structured in a way that can be interpreted reliably by various tools and technologies, both now and in the future. This caters to users who rely on assistive technologies like screen readers or who access your website through different browsers or devices. Here's what the Robust principle entails:
Valid Code: Imagine a website built on shaky foundations – it can be unreliable and inaccessible. The Robust principle encourages using valid code according to web standards (e.g., HTML, CSS) to ensure smooth interpretation by assistive technologies and different browsers.
Meaningful Structure: Just like a well-organized house is easier to navigate, a website with clear and semantic structure is easier for assistive technologies to understand. The Robust principle promotes using meaningful tags and attributes that convey the content's purpose and structure, not just its appearance.
Compatibility with Assistive Technologies: Assistive technologies are crucial tools for many users. The Robust principle encourages ensuring your website functions correctly with these technologies, allowing screen readers, voice recognition software, and other tools to interact with the content effectively.
Avoiding Deprecated Features: Technology is constantly evolving, and outdated features can become obsolete. The Robust principle discourages using deprecated features or code that might not be supported by future browsers or assistive technologies.
Making your website work for everyone
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the international standards for building accessible websites. WCAG ensures everyone, regardless of ability, can perceive, operate, understand, and navigate the web.
We have discussed above the four key principles that underpin web accessibility:
Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presented in a way that can be perceived by all users, including those with visual, auditory, and cognitive limitations.
Operable: User interfaces and navigation must be operable for everyone, including users with motor impairments who rely on assistive technologies.
Understandable: Information and the way users interact with your website should be clear and easy to grasp for a diverse audience.
Robust: Content must be interpretable reliably by a wide range of user agents, including assistive technologies, and remain accessible over time.
WCAG success criteria are categorized into three levels (A, AA, and AAA) to provide a roadmap for achieving accessibility. Here’s a brief explanation of each level:
Level A (Minimum): This is the foundational level of accessibility, ensuring basic usability for users with disabilities. Meeting Level A ensures your website is somewhat accessible but may not address all accessibility needs.
Level AA (Recommended) This is the recommended level for most websites and offers a significant improvement in accessibility. Level AA conformance addresses a wider range of disabilities and user needs.
Level AAA (Conformance): This is the most stringent level and addresses the broadest possible range of disabilities. Level AAA conformance is not always necessary or achievable for all content, but it represents the highest level of accessibility.
For most websites and in most countries, leveling up your website to conform to Level AA WCAG 2.2 success criteria will suffice for adhering to accessibility-related regulations. This is the minimal level recommended and remediated by EqualWeb.
Achieving WCAG conformance with EqualWeb
EqualWeb is a web accessibility development company with many advanced solutions at its disposal. Anything from AI-powered widgets that make the website 70% to 80% ADA compliant, robust monitoring tools, customized remediation by experts, PDF remediation tools, alt text generators, video editors, auditing tools, and many many more.
