In a previous article, we were talking about the importance of web accessibility and what it actually is. Countries around the world are recognizing how important a topic this is so they implement it in their legislature. Canada bases their policies on WCAG 2.0, same goes for Australia, India, United Kingdom, and the USA. European Union requires compliance with WCAG 2.1. What does this mean?

These guidelines are developed by individuals and organizations cooperating around the world to ensure there is a single shared standard for web accessibility.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines ( WCAG )

This standard is mostly meant for developers of web content, authoring tools, or accessibility evaluation tools.

"Content" in this context means the information in a webpage or application. It can be text, images, sound, also code that defines structure and presentation.

There are currently two main versions in use - WCAG 2.0 and WCAG 2.1 while 2.1 includes all requirements from 2.0. The guidelines contain testable "success criteria" that are in three levels: A, AA, and AAA. The guidelines are organized under 4 principles that the content needs to comply with: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines ( ATAG )

Authoring tools are software that helps create web content. It is usually used by developers, designers, writers, etc. We are talking about text editors, content managements systems (CMS), social media sites, and similar.

ATAG provides guidelines to make authoring tools themselves accessible as well as the necessity for the created content to be accessible. So for example, if you are sharing an image on a social media site, you should be able to give it an alternative text so the meaning is accessible to someone who cannot see the picture itself.

User Agent Accessibility Guidelines ( UAAG )

User agents are browsers, browser extensions, media players, readers, and other applications that render web content.

These guidelines are mainly meant for people who want to understand what user agents are more accessible than others. It can also be used to file bugs against to encourage existing user agent developers to improve accessibility.

Working with policies like these is usually quite overwhelming so I am hoping this brief introduction helps overcome the initial discomfort.