WCAG Beginners' Guide
You want to make your app accessible but don't know where to start? The WCAG is a good starting point. But which guidelines are relevant for your app?
The guidelines are made up of 78 success criteria. Which ones you have to take into account depends on where in the world your app is available. The way in which accessibility is guaranteed and mandated by the government differs considerably per region.
In Europe, EN 301 549 is used to guarantee accessibility from the law. This includes 44 success criteria that you should take into account. In the United States Section 508 is used for this. Which includes 34 success criteria.
Ten criteria to start with
To make it easier to get started, we've put together a list of ten criteria that are most common to have failures in apps. By paying attention to these ten success criteria, you will not build a fully accessible app but you will prevent up to 85% of the most common accessibility errors.
Success Criterion 4.1.2 - Name, Role, Value
Make sure it is clear for users of assistive technologies what actions can be performed.
Success criterion 2.4.3 - Focus Order
Ensure assistive technologies use a logical focus order when navigating.
Success criterion 1.4.10 - Reflow
Ensure that all content on the screen remains readable even with the largest font.
Success criterion 1.4.4 - Resize text
Ensure that the text in your app supports resizing.
Success criterion 1.4.11 - Non textual contrast
Ensure that the content on the screen has a contrast of at least 3:1 with the surrounding colour.
Success Criterion 1.3.1 - Info and Relationships
Make sure that the information and relationships on the screen are not only conveyed visually.
Success criterion 1.1.1 - Non-text Content
Make sure that alternative text is available for all content without text.
Success criterion 1.3.4 - Orientation
Allow content on the screen to rotate based on the display orientation of the device.
Succes criterion 4.1.3 - Status messages
Ensure that status messages are also passed to assistive technologies.
Success criterion 1.4.3 - Contrast (Minimum)
Ensure that the contrast ratio between the text colour and background colour is at least 4.5:1.
How this list came about
The findings of a number of recent audits, investigations and quick scans have been combined. This gives a lot of insight into which accessibility errors are most common in apps. Paying attention to these common errors will resolve up to 85% of accessibility errors. These audits were performed by Abra for various ministries, developers and municipalities.
Ready for the next step?
When you're ready for the next step, check out which criteria are more relevant to you. The WCAG has been incorporated into legislation in various ways. The way in which accessibility is guaranteed and mandated by the government depends on where in the world your app is used.
- EN 301 549 overview
EN 301 549
EN 301 549 is the European standard which describes requirements which apps must meet in order to be accessible.
- Section 508 overview
Section 508
Section 508 requires United States federal agencies to make their apps accessible for everyone.
Overview of all the guidelines
When you're ready for the next step, check out which criteria are more relevant to you.
- WCAG overview
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines how to make content more accessible to people with disabilities.
- Appt Evaluation Methodology (Appt-EM)
Appt Evaluation Methodology (Appt-EM)
The Appt Evaluation Methodology (Appt-EM) can be used to determine the accessibility of apps in a uniform and reproducible manner.