What you can do to start making your website accessible right now

Much like braille in an elevator or ramps next to a staircase, web accessibility helps those with disabilities to access websites across multiple devices. As websites are often considered as “public domain,” they need to be publicly accessible to all. If you didn’t know already, government websites (.gov) all must adhere to web accessibility guidelines. These guidelines, called the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) are set and maintained by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium).

What is the WCAG?

The WCAG is a set of guidelines responsible for different levels of accessibility compliance that every website should aim to adhere to. There are three levels of compliance: Level A, AA, and AAA. Though Level AAA compliance is impossible to attain, websites should do their best to reach Level AA standards if possible. These standards are based on four principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. You can easily memorize this with the acronym, POUR. Each of these principles has a number of guidelines and then criteria under those.

Perceivable – If people cannot see it, they need a way to hear it. If they cannot hear it, they need a way to read it.

• Text Alternatives – “Provide text alternatives for any non-text content so that it can be changed into other forms people need, such as large print, braille, speech, symbols or simpler language.”
• Time-Based Media – “Provide alternatives for time-based media.”
• Adaptable – “Create content that can be presented in different ways (for example simpler layout) without losing information or structure.”
• Distinguishable – “Make it easier for users to see and hear content including separating foreground from background.”

Operable – Users need considerations to comfortably operate and traverse content.

• Keyboard Accessible – “Make all functionality available from a keyboard.”
• Enough Time – “Provide users enough time to read and use content.”
• Seizures and Physical Reactions – “Do not design content in a way that is known to cause seizures or physical reactions.”
• Navigate – “Provide ways to help users navigate, find content, and determine where they are.”
• Input Modalities – “Make it easier for users to operate functionality through various inputs beyond keyboard.”

Understandable – Users need as few hindrances to understanding content as possible.

• Readable – “Make text content readable and understandable.”
• Predictable – “Make Web pages appear and operate in predictable ways.”
• Input Assistance – “Help users avoid and correct mistakes.”