WCAG guidelines
The W3C guidelines for making digital content accessible, organized into four principles, with testable criteria at three levels: A, AA and AAA.
What problem it addresses
It gives a shared, testable way to decide whether a website or app is accessible, instead of leaving it to intuition.
Components
Perceivable
Information can be perceived through more than one sense: alt text for images, captions, good contrast.
Operable
Everything can be used in different ways, such as with the keyboard, and with enough time.
Understandable
Text is understandable and the interface behaves predictably.
Robust
It works across browsers and assistive technologies, such as screen readers.
How it works
Four principles state what content must achieve.
Each guideline has concrete criteria that can be tested.
Each criterion has a level: A, AA or AAA.
Applications in design
Use it like this
Set level AA as the target and check it on every screen, not only at the end.
Avoid
Relying only on automated checkers: many barriers only show up when testing with a keyboard or a screen reader.
Don’t fall for it
Meeting the guidelines does not guarantee it is easy to use: also test it with people with disabilities.
Connections
Used in
Authors and works
- 2023
W3C, Web Accessibility Initiative
Published version 2.2 of the guidelines as a W3C Recommendation.
Sources
Original sources
- W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation, October 5, 2023. View source: W3C (2023)
- W3C (1999). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. W3C Recommendation, May 5, 1999. View source: W3C (1999)
Last reviewed: