WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) accessibility refers to web accessibility as defined by global web accessibility regulations. These regulations (WCAG) are part of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), which is a project of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
The WCAG serves as a measurement tool for the accessibility of websites and other digital properties.
This blog post will offer an in-depth analysis of the WCAG and explain why it is recognized as the international standard for web accessibility.
WCAG Overview
The WCAG has four overarching principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. Collectively, these principles, called POUR, represent the categories under which each WCAG rule falls.
Each principle has several guidelines, each with testable success criteria for assessing web accessibility.
The WCAG has three conformance levels: A, AA, and AAA. The second highest, AA, is widely considered realistic for companies.
Although AAA conformance is ideal, it is not typically required, as it is not always attainable. At Allyant, we consistently test for AA compliance.
WCAG History
The first version of WCAG, WCAG 1.0, was released in 1999. This was the first release of any formal web accessibility guidelines. WCAG 1.0 was essentially a checklist and was pretty restrictive.
WCAG 2.0, released in 2008, included 12 guidelines and 61 testable success criteria. These guidelines and success criteria allowed for more flexibility regarding web accessibility compliance.
WCAG 2.1, built on 2.0, was released in 2018 and included 13 guidelines and 78 success criteria (one guideline and 17 success criteria were added from 2.0).
Another update, WCAG 2.2, was released in October 2023 and included nine additional success criteria. One 2.1 success criterion was removed from 2.2, so 2.2 has 86 success criteria.
Why is WCAG the Standard?
WCAG has been the international standard for web accessibility testing since its initial release in 1999. It is regarded as the standard because it provides specific information through its principles, guidelines, and testable success criteria.
Most importantly, the WCAG provides a legal framework for web accessibility. Legal action may be taken if a website or other digital property fails to comply with one or more of the WCAG success criteria.
Complying with the WCAG is both morally and ethically correct, and it reduces the risk of incurring costly lawsuits or other legal repercussions.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice issued an updated WCAG ruling. The ruling lists updated requirements for state and local governments regarding web accessibility.
This rule now ensures that accessibility is an explicit and defined requirement for all levels of US government: State, Local, and Federal (which was previously addressed under Section 508).
WCAG and Automated Tools
Although using automated web accessibility tools as quick fixes can be very tempting, we strongly discourage solely relying on these tools. For instance, an automated tool cannot determine whether an image is meaningful and requires alternative text.
Consequently, manual live-user testing is essential to ensure all issues are identified. Automated tools can also produce false positives (issues that are not actually valid) or redundant issues.
While automated tools can help pinpoint certain WCAG violations (such as Allyant’s HUB toolkit), these solutions must be used alongside live-user testing to ensure accurate results. This is especially true when evaluating subjective issues, such as whether text should be formatted as a heading.
Accessibility vs. Usability
Sometimes, WCAG accessibility and compliance are not sufficient to ensure that your website or app can be effectively used by people with disabilities.
Although a website or mobile app that is fully WCAG-compliant is technically accessible, it may still not be usable for people with disabilities or other users.
While accessibility emphasizes enhancing the experiences of users with disabilities, usability is about making experiences easier for all users.
However, accessibility plays a significant role in usability. For example, a video with captions is primarily designed to be accessible for users with hearing impairments; however, it is also beneficial for individuals in noisy environments who cannot hear the video.
Allyant uses a paired auditing system, in which a sighted auditor works with a native screen reader user to audit a website or mobile app to ensure usability is considered. Allyant is the only accessibility vendor that uses paired auditing.
Allyant and WCAG Accessibility/Compliance
Don’t wait to get started on the path to WCAG compliance!
Contact us to request a digital accessibility audit or if you have general questions about WCAG accessibility and compliance. You can also follow Allyant on social media to stay updated with the latest
