What Is WCAG and Why Does It Matter?
The WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), creates international standards for making web content accessible to the broader user population.
These guidelines establish how to create web content that can interface with individuals of different abilities as easily as possible and without barriers.
WCAG is an important set of standards for accessibility because it recognizes that accessibility does not apply only to a small, isolated user group. Around 50 countries have laws, regulations, or policies specifically addressing web and digital accessibility. That’s all because millions of people worldwide suffer from different disabilities, including vision impairments, hearing loss, motor disabilities, and differences.
Additionally, people may experience limitations in their ability to access web content due to temporary conditions such as injuries (e.g., a broken arm, eye strain) or specific situations (e.g., bright sun or poor internet connectivity).
The WCAG provides measurable criteria that can help organizations remove commonly experienced barriers to accessing web content.
The WCAG serves as the global standard for accessibility. Governments, businesses, and digital platforms use the WCAG as a standard for determining acceptable levels of accessibility and for assessing their risk.
The Core WCAG Principles That Improve Accessibility
Four primary principles guide the organization of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which describe characteristics of how the accessibility of web content should function for users. The fourth principles are:
- Perceivable, which means that information should be accessible via multiple senses. Ways to help users access content through reading different media types, such as text alternatives for pictures, captions for videos, and having enough colour contrast between foreground and background colours, will enable people to get information in a way that works for their individual abilities and/or devices.
- Operable, which means that the way users interact with web content must be through a keyboard, and that users must have enough time to complete an action. Interactions must NOT cause distress or confusion to users. Also, clear focus indicators and logical navigation patterns will provide users with confidence in completing an action regardless of the way they interact with the website.
- Understandable, which means the way content is written must be in plain language; the way interfaces are created must be consistent; and the way error messages are written must be informative rather than vague. If users know what to expect and are able to easily fix mistakes, their chances of completing a task will improve.
- Compatible, which means Web Content must work properly regardless of the user and what browser they are using;
Business and SEO Benefits of WCAG Compliance
WCAG standards impact usability and how users engage with a website. For users with or without assistive devices, frictionless website features include easy-to-follow website elements such as headings, navigational structure, and legible font. When visitors abandon a task, it is usually because the website is too difficult to use.
WCAG standards also positively impact website search engine optimization (SEO). Clean HTML, headings, and labels improve the structure of a website for crawlers.
WCAG standards also improve a website for described images, so search engines are able to provide a more accurate response to a search query with a rich snippet or image. Website performance and accessibility are interrelated.
Improving focus order, streamlining layouts, and removing extraneous scripts improve performance metrics and load times. Users will trust and take action more on a website that is predictable and clear. Many organizations involve WCAG compliance consultants at this stage to align accessibility improvements with SEO and conversion goals without introducing conflicting changes.
WCAG Compliance Levels Explained (A, AA, AAA)
The WCAG has three distinct levels that provide different degrees of support for accessibility. The most basic level, A, means websites still meet the bare minimum.
These include the most basic barriers, like providing text alternatives for pictures, and functionalities that can be accessed using a keyboard. While removing level A barriers does get rid of major obstacles, a lot of usability problems are still left.
The majority of individuals agree that for most websites, the industry standard is level AA. Level AA adds to compliance level A with even more barriers to address, like color contrast, the ability to resize text, and navigation that is consistent and without confusion. The more devices and accessibility technologies the content is compatible with, the more likely it is to meet level AA compliance of accessibility.
This level is commonly included in accessibility regulations and procurement policies because it is the sweet spot for coverage and implementation effort.
Level AAA barriers include the most complex accessibility support criteria. These involve more detailed guidance for cognitive accessibility and even more complex contrast ratio requirements. Full AAA compliance is rarely achieved and is especially unrealistic for complex websites; it is encouraged for specific criteria.
Common Accessibility Issues WCAG Helps Solve
Many websites unintentionally cause barriers that can impede user engagement. The following are common inconsistencies that can impact accessibility.
- Low color contrast. Insufficient contrast makes some texts challenging to read and particularly difficult for individuals with some visual impairments. Improving contrast can aid in readability for a broader audience.
- Missing alternative text for images. Without descriptive alternative text, screen-readers are not programmed to interpret the significance of the images. This limits the understanding of individuals who are not able to see them
- Videos without captions or transcripts. Videos without captions, transcripts, or audio descriptions. Individuals who are blind or deaf may not have a way to access the complete content are further excluded.
- Keyboard navigation challenges. Users who rely on keyboards need an organized tab order, visible focus indicators, and robust menus to move through content efficiently.
- Inaccessible forms. Barriers caused by complex input fields or vague messages, and the absence of complete error messages, can impede
Web teams often use a WCAG accessibility audit to identify these gaps. Such audits provide actionable insights, allowing development teams to prioritize fixes and validate improvements in line with WCAG standards.
How to Start Applying WCAG to Your Website
To start implementing WCAG, the first thing you need to do is review your current website. An accessibility review is the best way to figure out what is lacking in your website’s content, design, and functionality.
While some tools and automated checks give you a good idea of potential problems, you need to do manual testing to find some potential problems.
After you find the gaps in your website’s design and functionality, the next step is to prioritize what to fix first. Consider the impact of the changes and the cost of implementing them. Changes can be as simple as adding alt text to images, making color contrast better, changing the structure of your headings, or making your forms more accessible to include everyone.
When developing new content, development teams should use the best practices and keep in mind making content accessible to everyone. When testing, try to include actual users.
Users with different abilities can help you recognize problems that automated testing didn’t find. It’s critical to keep accessibility in mind as you continue to update your website.
Make it a part of your standard workflow, not a one-off task. When working with accessibility specialists, it’s best to design your process and milestones. That way, you make sure your incremental changes are impactful and don’t stray from the needs of your users.
Why WCAG Is an Investment in Long-Term Accessibility
WCAG adherence is a way to ensure a positive outcome for users and businesses. Websites that are accessible offer their services to an even wider audience.
This encompasses users with permanent disabilities and those with temporary or situational disabilities. You are also adding to the accessibility of the Web, which is a social good. By boosting your brand’s accessibility and inclusivity, you are also boosting the trust and engagement of the community.
By adding accessibility to your site, you are also adding the potential to avoid legal and compliance pitfalls. Many governing bodies cite the WCAG guidelines for accessibility, and not adhering to them can lead to legal or monetary penalties.
Being accessible shows that you care and that you are a step ahead of the rest. Accessible websites typically have better all-around performance. When a website has simplicity in its structure, navigation, and content, all users are able to engage better with the website, which usually leads to greater conversion rates.
Accessibility improvements to a website usually also mean a boost in its SEO and overall performance. When accessibility is a focus during the development of a site, organizations are able to ensure that the site is competitive in its space.
When accessibility is treated as a priority, long-term improvements to a site are also made. The operational efficiency, positive user experience, and expanded market reach that the WCAG standards offer make them an ideal focus for website development.
