Updated 8/9/2024
There is no such thing as legal compliance with WCAG.
The term “compliance” only applies to legislation and other mandatory obligations. Although WCAG is used as a framework for legislation in many countries, as an external standard from which legal compliance can be determined, the guidelines themselves are not legally binding.
The correct term to use when referring to WCAG is conformance; the term “compliance” should only be used in relation to laws that are based on WCAG.
Now that the confusion is out of the way, let’s look closer at what WCAG conformance is.
What is WCAG?
The Web Accessibility Content Guidelines (WCAG) are created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The W3C is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web. It is tasked with creating web standards and guidelines that enable users to have comparable experiences throughout the web, even while using different devices, browsers, operating systems, etc.
One subset of these web standards is WCAG. Content creators and developers follow these guidelines when generating digital content to help ensure that what they create is accessible to people with disabilities.
WCAG and Legal Compliance
While WCAG itself is not legislation, many global digital accessibility laws reference WCAG standards. For instance, the U.S. Rehabilitation Act’s Section 508 and Ontario’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) evaluate web content against WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA success criteria. It’s essential to distinguish between WCAG conformance (aligning with WCAG standards) and legal compliance (meeting legal requirements for accessibility).
Understanding WCAG Versions and Conformance Levels
WCAG continues to update and evolve. As user needs and technology change, so do the guidelines and requirements designed to provide the most inclusive experience.
Understanding WCAG Version Variations
The complete list of WCAG versions includes the following:
- WCAG 1.0: Released in 1999, this was the first version of WCAG.
- WCAG 2.0: Released in 2008, this version provided the first set of updates and became the most universally accepted standard of its time.
- WCAG 2.1: Released in 2018, this version expanded on WCAG 2.0 to accommodate new technology and design approaches, such as mobile devices and responsive design.
- WCAG 2.2: Released in 2023, this version was a relatively minor update that primarily focused on the needs of users with cognitive and motor disabilities.
Each version builds upon the earlier one, ensuring that conformance with the most recent version also covers older versions. Working towards the latest version of WCAG should always be the goal. Continuing to track and understand updates as they are released will ensure your content is always accessible for people with disabilities.
Understanding the 3 WCAG Levels of Conformance
WCAG guidelines are structured around three conformance levels. Each level represents different standards but can also serve as building blocks to continue to achieve accessibility for all.
- WCAG Level A: The bare minimum level of conformance.
- WCAG Level AA: The target level of conformance.
- WCAG Level AAA: The highest level of conformance,
Let’s review these levels in more detail.
WCAG Level A: Basic Accessibility
Level A addresses the most fundamental accessibility considerations. It serves as a baseline achievement but may still leave some barriers. For example, Success Criterion 1.4.1, Use of Color, requires that color is not the only visual means of conveying information. This criterion helps visually impaired users but does not address more complex accessibility issues.
WCAG Level AA: Strong Accessibility
Level AA builds on Level A, addressing broader accessibility issues. It is the most recommended conformance level by accessibility experts, including those at TPGi. For instance, Success Criterion 1.4.3, Contrast (Minimum), requires sufficient contrast between text and background colors to enhance readability for users with visual impairments.
WCAG Level AAA: Excellent Accessibility
Level AAA is the highest standard of accessibility. It includes all Level A and AA criteria and adds more stringent requirements. For example, Success Criterion 1.4.6, Contrast (Enhanced), requires a higher contrast ratio between text and background colors (7:1) to accommodate users with severe vision impairments. However, achieving Level AAA is not always possible for all web content and organizations.
WCAG AA vs. AAA: Setting Your Accessibility Standards
While Level AAA offers the highest accessibility, it’s not always practical or possible — most global accessibility laws reference Level AA as the standard. Therefore, aiming for WCAG 2.2 AA guidelines while addressing specific Level AAA criteria that fit your content’s purpose and user base is a pragmatic approach. This strategy ensures strong accessibility while acknowledging the limitations and practicalities of achieving Level AAA.
The Four WCAG Principles for Web Accessibility
WCAG has a comprehensive and detailed list of requirements to ensure all digital assets are accessible to people with disabilities. While this may seem complicated and overwhelming, these requirements revolve around four basic principles:
- Perceivable: To ensure that users can access and understand a website’s information and interface elements, it is essential to present content in a way that can be perceived through at least one of the user’s senses.
- Operable: It is essential that user interface elements and navigation are fully operable by users. This means that users must be able to interact with the interface easily and should not have to perform actions they cannot do.
- Understandable: Users must be able to understand the information presented and should know how to use and navigate the website effectively.
- Robust: A wide range of user agents, including assistive technologies, should be able to access website information and use the interface. This means that users should be able to continue accessing content even as technologies change.
13 High-Level Guidelines in the WCAG Principles
There are 13 primary guidelines that fall within the four WCAG principles explained above. A good way to think about their relationship is how these measurable objectives can be used to meet general goals. They are described below and grouped with the principle they support.
| Perceivable | Operable | Understandable | Robust |
| Text Alternatives: Text alternatives are equivalent replacements for non-text elements, such as providing a label for a form field or a description for an image. These alternatives enable users who cannot see or interact with the non-text content to understand its purpose and context. | Keyboard Accessible: Websites should be entirely and easily operable through keyboard-only navigation. | Readable: All writing should be clear and understandable, avoiding jargon, unusual words, and having limited acronyms. Where unfamiliar language is required, it should be qualified with definitions and the full unabbreviated phrase. | Compatible: Websites should strive to be as compatible as possible with current and future user agents, including assistive technologies, to provide the best user experience for all users. |
| Time-Based Media: Media content such as video should provide accessible alternatives for users who can’t perceive a part of it, such as captions for spoken content and audio descriptions for visual content. | Enough Time: Ample time should be allowed for all time-based activities such as animated or auto-updating content, and authentication timeouts. | Predictable: Websites and content should be built to function as people expect them to by ensuring that navigation and interactions are consistent and predictable. | |
| Adaptable: All content should be able to adjust without losing information when a website’s presentation or layout is changed. | Seizures and Physical Reactions: All display content and website design should avoid excessive flashing and other typical seizure triggers. | Input Assistance: Users should be able to use saved browser input information to avoid mistakes and ensure accuracy when attempting to fill out login fields and sign-up forms. | |
| Distinguishable: Content should be formatted with appropriate visual presentation. This includes a strong contrast of foreground text with background color and images. | Navigable: A website should offer users straightforward and logical ways to discover and find content. Navigation should make sense and be easy to use, headings should be used to structure content, and the keyboard focus should always be visible and unobscured. | ||
| Input Modalities: Users should have a similar website experience even with different input options beyond a keyboard and mouse, including switch controls, eye trackers, and voice commands. |
When incorporating WCAG into your workflow, keeping these pillars in mind can help you think more strategically about user needs and identify potential shortcomings.
The Importance of WCAG Conformance and Digital Accessibility
WCAG includes a multitude of criteria, some of which can seem ambiguous at first. Let’s start with a few of the easy-to-understand practices that will help you improve the accessibility of your digital content.
Including alternative text when you have an image on a website is an easy way to help your content conform to WCAG. Blind and low-vision individuals use assistive technology called screen readers to access digital content. Still a screen reader will only read what is on the screen (hence its name.) Therefore, if there is an image without alternative text in the HTML, the person using the screen reader will have no idea what the image is conveying.
Here are some scenarios to consider:
First scenario: Look at your organization’s website and picture it without illustrations, banners, or photos. Does it still make sense? Can you still navigate it and understand what it’s about or how to complete a task?
Second scenario: Imagine watching a television program in your doctor’s waiting room. The sound is turned all the way down, and the program has no captions. It’s a news show, and the anchor looks serious, but you have no idea what they’re talking about other than the headline.
This is a frustrating position, one that deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals find themselves in all too often. To conform to WCAG, you should always include captions and transcripts for your multimedia. Hence, it is accessible to as many users as possible.
These simple scenarios illustrate the importance of WCAG conformance. Still, there are other, more severe situations in which an inaccessible website can be life-threatening. For example, WCAG has criteria relating to flashing and animated content because, in some cases, flashing content on a website can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy.
Stay Conformant with TPGi’s WCAG Checker
TPGi offers a variety of solutions to help organizations create accessible digital content and remain conformant with WCAG and other accessibility standards. Start your journey with our automated software tools, like our free WCAG checker, ARC Toolkit, or color contrast checker.
When you are ready to mature your accessibility efforts, TPGi will help you develop an accessibility strategy and provide you with the expert training and support your team needs to achieve your goals. Contact us today to get started on your accessibility journey and create inclusive experiences for all!