Accessibility - Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2

Summary

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) through its Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), offer a universal framework for building inclusive web experiences. This article explores the structure, purpose, and application of WCAG 2, highlighting its role in shaping a more equitable digital world.

Body

As digital content becomes increasingly central to education, business, and daily life, ensuring that websites are accessible to everyone—including individuals with disabilities—is more important than ever. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) through its Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), offer a universal framework for building inclusive web experiences. These guidelines help developers, designers, and organizations create content that is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust across platforms, including mobile. This article explores the structure, purpose, and application of WCAG 2, highlighting its role in shaping a more equitable digital world.

A universal standard

The goal is providing a single universal standard for website accessibility that meets the requirements of individuals, organizations, and governments all over the world, including for mobile sites and applications. WCAG 2 criteria describe how to build web content which is more accessible for everyone, including individuals with disabilities. This includes: 

  • Text, images, and sounds are examples of natural information. 
  • Structure, presentation, and other features are defined by code or markup. 

WCAG is intended for: 

  • Web content developers including page authors, site designers, subject matter experts, and others  
  • Web authoring tool developers 
  • Web accessibility evaluation tool developers 
  • Others who want or need a standard for web accessibility 

Guidelines and application

The WCAG standards consist of guidelines which are organized under four different principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable and Robust. It includes testable success criteria for each of the guidelines. There are three levels of success criteria: A, AA, and AAA. To comply with WCAG at a particular level, the content must meet the success criteria noted, inclusive of lower levels. For example, to be Level AA compliant, success criteria for levels A and AA must be met. 

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are stable and referenceable standards that do not alter once they have been published. 

  • On December 11, 2008, WCAG 2.0 was released. 
  • On June 5, 2018, WCAG 2.1 -- the current standard -- was released. 

Note: In WCAG 2.1, all the WCAG 2.0 requirements ("success criteria") are incorporated in addition to the newly published guidelines. The success criteria from 2.0 are identical (word for word) in 2.1 

Visit Web Accessibility Standards for a quick overview of the WCAG 2.1 guidelines. 

Details

Details

Article ID: 852
Created
Thu 11/7/24 12:24 PM
Modified
Thu 10/16/25 1:17 PM

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Digital Accessibility Training
This request allows anyone to find out more information about role-based and targeted digital accessibility skills training. Training options and recommendations are customized for organizational roles to help participants procure, create, maintain, and distribute accessible digital resources and se