A Beginner’s Guide to Understanding WCAG

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) introduced a series of guidelines called the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or also known as the WCAG to improve web accessibility. Often witnessed as the best way to make the website design useful to others, WCAG is internationally recognized and offers standard direction on how to develop properly accessible websites. The guidelines focused on solving the issues faced by the users, especially the ones with disabilities.

A thorough explanation of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines has been given in the article for your reference.

A glance back

The inception of the guideline can be traced back to 1999 which brought together the years’ of hard work. The first WCAG had 14 guidelines that were divided into 3 priority levels:

Priority 1 stated the most basic level of accessibility
Priority 2 addressed the major barriers for users with different disabilities
Priority 3 spoke about significant improvements that could be made to web accessibility

These guidelines became the stepping stone for the versions developed in later on.

The POUR Principle

The present set of guidelines, WCAG 2.0, which were introduced in 2008 is more technologically neutral and advanced than its previous version. A few principles were developed for WCAG 2.0 which created a universal ethical statement. The principles are often abbreviated to POUR (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust). The guidelines from the 2.0 version aimed at three main senses of sight, sound and touch. A comprehensive summary of these principles are given below:

Perceivable: A website should feel perceivable or in simple words, the information given on the website should be understood simply by the users.

Operable: This principle focuses on the ways in which a browser is navigated. While some people can use a mouse, others might have a difficulty using the mouse and would depend on the keyboard. An operable website will allow easy navigation.

Understandable: The first two principles will mean nothing if the user can’t understand anything displayed on it. The instructions given should be simple while complex issues should be explained properly. The website should function properly, avoiding inconsistent functions.

Robust: Using proper technology like HTML and CSS can minimise the risk of users not being able to access the site properly.

The POUR principle is the base of the WCAG 2.0.

A WCAG 2.0 Checklist

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 have been organized into three levels according to their difficulty. To understand the guidelines well, refer to the checklist mentioned below.

Level A (Beginner)

• Audio-only and Video-only (Pre-recorded): The website should provide alternative video and audio for all content
• Meaningful Sequence: The content should be presented in a meaningful and comprehensible order
• Pause, Stop, Hide: Users should have control over moving content
• Bypass Blocks: A ‘Skip to Content’ link should always be provided
• Language of Page: Every page should have a language assigned
• Page Titled: Every page should have helpful and clear page titles

Level AA (Intermediate)

• Captions (Live): Every live video should have captions
• Resize Text: The text in the page can be resized to 200% without losing the content or any other function of the site
• Multiple Ways: The user should have several ways to find the pages
• Language of Parts: Informing the users that the page has options to change the language
• Error Suggestions: Give users the suggestion to fix issues when they have made an error
• Consistent Navigation: Use consistently menus

Level AAA (Advanced)

• Sign Language (Pre-recorded): Videos should have sign language translations
• Contrast (Enhanced): The contrast ratio between the text and the background should be a minimum of 7:1
• No Timing: There should be no time limits on the websites
• Interruptions: Users should not be Interrupted
• Unusual words: Difficult or strange words should be explained
• Help: A detailed instruction for ‘help’ should be formed

WCAG 2.0 is a massive step towards web accessibility, however, the jargons can be difficult to understand. With experience and common sense, the guidelines can be easily understood and explained, which have the potential benefits for both developers and users. Most web design service providers have a vast knowledge about the same, which allows them to design user-friendly websites.