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Accessibility Guidelines

When it comes to accessibility guidelines and standards, there are two main things you should know about. I'll go into those details in the sections below.

WCAG

The globally-recognized Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (abbreviated to WCAG or some people like to call it WhuCAG). WCAG is a set of guidelines for making web content more accessible. Primarily for people with disabilities. The WCAG are the official guidelines for all countries to look to, worldwide. They are published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the main international standards organization for the Internet.

The W3C is the source of authority on how to achieve digital accessibility. The standards are developed transparently and in an open collaborative way involving people from all over the world.

WCAG defines four principles of web accessibility, presented in the acronym POUR: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. WCAG 2 at a glance.

There are multiple degrees of compliance a group can aim for: Level A, Level AA (double A), or Level AAA (triple A). Level A being the most lenient and Level AAA being the most strict.

WCAG boasts broad applicability across various technologies. Unlike standards focused on a single tech format, WCAG adapts to different programming languages, browsers, and digital products, including mobile apps, websites, software, and digital content.

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W3C has produced two other sets of accessibility guidelines:

The Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) is about making authoring tools accessible, like the Content Management Systems themselves (such as, WordPress, Drupal).

The Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) is about making user agents accessible (such as web browsers, extensions for browsers, media players).

Section 508

If you design digital products for U.S.-based businesses or organizations, then you should know about these two U.S. laws:

Section 508 - which covers government agencies and organizations in receipt of government funding such as universities.

  • This is a section of the federal law that mandates certain electronic content (and other things) conform to the accessibility standards of WCAG 2.0 Level AA.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which covers businesses and, most often, their websites.

  • Title III of the ADA mandates that places of public accommodation need to be accessible to those with disabilities. In court, “public accommodations” has often included publicly accessible websites and other digital products.
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