Why study and follow the WCAG?
- WCAG are the most important accessibility guidelines to this day. Those guidelines are the foundation for most web accessibility laws in the world.
- WCAG are developed through the W3C process in collaboration with individuals and organisations worldwide, with the goal of providing a single common standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organisations, and governments on an international level.
- The W3C was founded in 1994 by the very creator of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee.
- More than 350 Members from around the world lead the development and implementation of standards.
- Over 14,700 developers worldwide participate in the standards development.
How did these guidelines evolve over time to reflect the evolution of technology and tackle new challenges and issues?
- The first WCAG were published in 1999.
- They were then revised in 2008, under the name of WCAG 2.0.
- They were revised again in 2018, under the name WCAG 2.1, and then WCAG 2.2. This is the standard most largely used today.
- WCAG 3.0 is currently under development. A draft of WCAG 3.0 was published on May 16, 2024.
- WCAG 3 will have similar fundamental and specific accessibility requirements as WCAG 2. WCAG 3 will have a different structure, different conformance model, and broader scope.
The WCAG 2.2 includes 13 guidelines, which are organised under four principles:
- Perceivable
- Operable
- Understandable
- Robust
Each guideline is associated with testable success criteria. Success criteria are the specific requirements needed to meet the WCAG standards. Think of success criteria as things to do or things to account for accessibility. These success criteria are categorised into three levels: A, AA, and AAA.
WCAG categorises accessibility into three levels of conformance:
- Level A (Single A): Basic accessibility features.
- Level AA (Double A): Intermediate, more comprehensive accessibility features. It is the standard all websites should be aiming for (governments, corporations).
- Level AAA (Triple A): Advanced accessibility features for the highest level of accessibility. More often used for specific circumstances and content types.
These levels are defined by success criteria designed to accommodate various disabilities including visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments.
The success criteria determine conformance to the WCAG. In other words, to meet the WCAG, content must satisfy the success criteria.
WP3 provides a website to understand WCAG 2.2 guidelines and criteria.