WCAG Empowers You to Make Your Web Content More Accessible
By Steven Ryals, Senior Quality Assurance & Interactive Media Project Manager, and Cindy Schott, Senior Instructional Designer
The way content is communicated will largely determine its degree of success with its users. So why wouldn’t you make every aspect of your content accessible and searchable for all users, whether the content is your website, online course, or other online presence? If you are a part of any team responsible for content, you can help ensure users receive a quality experience when viewing your content over the web by following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
What is WCAG?
WCAG is a set of standards that, when successfully followed, can make what you create and publish online more accessible—and thus more useful—to a larger audience, including many people with disabilities. WCAG 2.1, the latest WCAG version as of April 2022, includes all WCAG 2.0 requirements and continues to focus on four principles of content accessibility: that content should be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. [Note: WCAG 2.2, which will include new accessibility requirements, called “success criteria,” is scheduled to publish in September 2022.]
What is perceivable content?
For users to engage with web content, they must be able to perceive it in at least one way that works for them, even if that way differs from the content creator’s preferred way. Implementing this WCAG principle can include adding descriptive text for images and captions for videos, allowing simpler content layout, using sufficiently contrasting colors, and providing a way to control audio volume.
What is operable content?
Users also must be able to operate the interactive elements of web content, especially those for navigation; content creators should recognize that not everyone can browse with a mouse or a finger. Implementing this WCAG principle can include making it easier to browse with a keyboard or another input device, allowing adjustable (or no) time limits for an online activity, avoiding the use of flashes and other animation techniques that can cause seizures or other physical reactions, and providing navigational cues.
What is understandable content?
Accessible content is understandable content. Creators should aim to help users with adequate reading abilities to understand and interact with their content. Implementing this WCAG principle can include identifying content’s language, defining unusual words and abbreviations, ensuring content works in predictable ways, providing instructions for user input, and identifying and clearly describing input errors to the user.
What is robust content?
Finally, creators should make content robust enough for users to access it with a variety of tools and assistive technologies; enabling compatibility extends the useful life of content. Implementing this WCAG principle can include ensuring that code is written according to specifications and interface elements have names, roles, and values.
How is WCAG success measured?
Successfully meeting all requirements of WCAG is gauged by level of conformance: Level A, Level AA, or Level AAA, with Level A designating that the minimum requirements have been met. WAVE or similar tools can help creators and users test web content for accessibility issues.
For more information on how you can achieve WCAG success, see How to Meet WCAG (Quick Reference).
Remember, incorporating WCAG into your overall design of websites, online courses, or other online media is your best opportunity to provide an inclusive experience for your users to understand and interact with your content. Utilizing WCAG, you have the ability to help your content be accessible—and successful—for all.