Standards hold an important place in the digital landscape; they help remove barriers to access and provide consistent experiences for users. It’s best practice to run webpages and documents against at least one accessibility standard to ensure that the content is detectable, usable, clear, and compatible with assistive technologies. So then, the question becomes: what guidelines should I be checking my content against?
If you’re newly embarking on your accessibility journey, you’ll see acronyms like WCAG, ADA, and ARIA thrown around frequently. Depending on the region you’re in, you may also see local standards like ACA and EN 301 549. It can be overwhelming to navigate all the different standards in place, especially when getting into specifics like web apps vs websites, and images vs text content. If you’re struggling to identify the specific standards you should be checking your digital content against, look no further. Keep reading to learn about the most common accessibility standards, accessibility laws, and their most appropriate use cases.
1. The Global Golden Standard – WCAG 2.2/2.1
If there is one accessibility guideline that everyone should know about, it is WCAG 2.2. WCAG 2.2 and 2.1 are both referenced frequently, with WCAG 2.2 being the more recently updated version that supersedes WCAG 2.1. Think of WCAG 2.2/2.1 as the golden standard for accessibility. It is the most widely recognized set of accessibility standards, and is used all around the world for web content auditing. Whether it’s for webpage design, online documents, or multimedia content, the WCAG will be able to provide you with guidance on how to make that digital experience accessible.
Within the WCAG 2.2/2.1 guidelines, there are three levels of conformance: Level A (the lowest), Level AA, and Level AAA (the highest). Each level of conformance encompasses and supersedes the previous level—so to be Level AA compliant, all Level A standards must be fully met first. The level of conformance you need to follow will depend on factors like local laws, organizational accessibility standards, and personal accessibility goals, but as a general rule of thumb, the most commonly expected level of conformance is Level AA.
2. Dynamic Web Content and Applications – WAI-ARIA 1.2
The Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite of web standards, or WAI-ARIA, is a set of guidelines specifically relating to making web content and web applications accessible to people with disabilities. Where WCAG 2.2 should be used for all web content, WAI-ARIA 1.2 has a particular focus on dynamic content and advanced user interface controls that are developed with HTML, JavaScript, and other similar technologies.
WAI-ARIA 1.2 guidelines are best suited for developers who want to ensure their dynamic web content is accessible to some users with disabilities, particularly those who rely on screen readers and people who cannot use a mouse. Within the WAI-ARIA guidelines, you can also find the ARIA Authoring Practices Guide, which can help developers implement accessibility semantics to common design patterns and widgets.
3. The Regional Legal Requirements – ADA, Section 508, and EN 301 549 (among others)
This is where requirements may start to differ. Depending on where you live, the regional and legal requirements for accessibility will change. In the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act passed a ruling for all public entities to conform to WCAG 2.1 AA standards, and the commonly referenced Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act states that all US federal agencies must make ICT content comply with WCAG 2.0 Level AA. Across the European Union, the standard for ICT accessibility is EN 301 549 V3.2.1, which builds upon WCAG 2.1 Level AA but extends beyond to include areas like biometrics, support services, and hardware requirements. Other common regional legal requirements include the Accessible Canada Act and the UK’s Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations law.
Individuals and organizations will need to conduct their own research into the local requirements for digital accessibility to ensure they are legally compliant. However, even with all the differing regional requirements, it is a common trend to base legal requirements on WCAG guidelines, so familiarity with our golden standard will help you out here, too.
4. Structuring PDFs – ISO 14289 (PDF/UA)
As the most common digital document format, PDFs have their own standards for accessibility. The ISO 14289 (PDF/UA) standards are built upon WCAG recommendations and provide the technical standards for how to create “Tagged PDFs.”
A properly tagged PDF is a document that contains hidden markup tags that create a defined reading order and identify page elements like headings, paragraphs, and images. By properly tagging PDFs, assistive technologies can navigate content according to the logical flow and not just the visual layout. In addition to compatibility with assistive technologies, tagging PDFs also improves readability on mobile devices by allowing to text reflow on smaller screens.
How to Ensure Compliance with These Standards
Once you have an idea of the accessibility standards you should be complying with, it’s time to start thinking about how you can implement those standards. Trying to memorize the WCAG and manually fix every mistake on your own is likely not a feasible solution. Instead, try digital compliance tools like YuJa EqualGround to identify and monitor accessibility compliance issues across web properties, or find a third-party accessibility auditing service to assist your journey.
By checking your content against the correct digital accessibility standards, you can ensure legal compliance, but more than that, you can make sure your web content is accessible to as many users as possible, regardless of ability.
