The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0
WCAG 2.0 Accessibility Guidelines
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines relevant to the accessibility of page titles, text content, headings and link text are:-
Page Title
Guideline | Description |
---|---|
2.4 | Navigable: Provide ways to help users navigate, find content, and determine where they are. |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
Text content
Guideline | Description |
---|---|
1.3 | Adaptable: Create content that can be presented in different ways (for example simpler layout) without losing information or structure. |
1.4 | Distinguishable: Make it easier for users to see and hear content including separating foreground from background. |
2.1 | Keyboard Accessible: Make all functionality available from a keyboard. |
3.1 | Readable: Make text content readable and understandable. |
3.2 | Predictable: Make Web pages appear and operate in predictable ways. |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
Headings
Guideline | Description |
---|---|
1.3 | Adaptable: Create content that can be presented in different ways (for example simpler layout) without losing information or structure. |
2.4 | Navigable: Provide ways to help users navigate, find content, and determine where they are. |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
Link text
Guideline | Description |
---|---|
1.1 | 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. |
1.3 | Adaptable: Create content that can be presented in different ways (for example simpler layout) without losing information or structure. |
1.4 | Distinguishable: Make it easier for users to see and hear content including separating foreground from background. |
2.1 | Keyboard Accessible: Make all functionality available from a keyboard. |
2.4 | Navigable: Provide ways to help users navigate, find content, and determine where they are. |
3.1 | Readable: Make text content readable and understandable. |
3.2 | Predictable: Make Web pages appear and operate in predictable ways. |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Success Criterion relevant to the accessibility of page titles, text content, headings and link text are:-
Page Title
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
Text content
SC | Description |
---|---|
1.3.1 | Info and Relationships: Information, structure, and relationships conveyed through presentation can be programmatically determined or are available in text. (Level A) |
1.3.2 | Meaningful Sequence: When the sequence in which content is presented affects its meaning, a correct reading sequence can be programmatically determined. (Level A) |
1.3.3 | Sensory Characteristics: Instructions provided for understanding and operating content do not rely solely on sensory characteristics of components such as shape, size, visual location, orientation, or sound. (Level A) |
1.4.1 | Use of Color: Color is not used as the only visual means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element. (Level A) |
1.4.5 | Images of Text: If the technologies being used can achieve the visual presentation, text is used to convey information rather than images of text except for the following: (Level AA)
|
2.1.1 | Keyboard: All functionality of the content is operable through a keyboard interface without requiring specific timings for individual keystrokes, except where the underlying function requires input that depends on the path of the user’s movement and not just the endpoints. (Level A) |
3.1.1 | Language of Page: The default human language of each Web page can be programmatically determined. (Level A) |
3.1.2 | Language of Parts: The human language of each passage or phrase in the content can be programmatically determined except for proper names, technical terms, words of indeterminate language, and words or phrases that have become part of the vernacular of the immediately surrounding text. (Level AA) |
3.2.4 | Consistent Identification: Components that have the same functionality within a set of Web pages are identified consistently. (Level AA) |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
Headings
SC | Description |
---|---|
1.3.1 | Info and Relationships: Information, structure, and relationships conveyed through presentation can be programmatically determined or are available in text. (Level A) |
2.4.6 | Headings and Labels: Headings and labels describe topic or purpose. (Level AA) |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
Link text
SC | Description |
---|---|
1.1.1 | Non-text Content: All non-text content that is presented to the user has a text alternative that serves the equivalent purpose, except for the situations listed below. (Level A)
|
1.3.1 | Info and Relationships: Information, structure, and relationships conveyed through presentation can be programmatically determined or are available in text. (Level A) |
1.4.3 | Contrast (Minimum): The visual presentation of text and images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, except for the following: (Level AA)
|
2.1.1 | Keyboard: All functionality of the content is operable through a keyboard interface without requiring specific timings for individual keystrokes, except where the underlying function requires input that depends on the path of the user’s movement and not just the endpoints. (Level A) |
2.4.4 | Link Purpose (In Context): The purpose of each link can be determined from the link text alone or from the link text together with its programmatically determined link context, except where the purpose of the link would be ambiguous to users in general. (Level A) |
2.4.5 | Multiple Ways: More than one way is available to locate a Web page within a set of Web pages except where the Web Page is the result of, or a step in, a process. (Level AA) |
2.4.7 | Focus Visible: Any keyboard operable user interface has a mode of operation where the keyboard focus indicator is visible. (Level AA) |
3.1.1 | Language of Page: The default human language of each Web page can be programmatically determined. (Level A) |
3.2.4 | Consistent Identification: Components that have the same functionality within a set of Web pages are identified consistently. (Level AA) |
WCAG 2.0 Sufficient Techniques
For each of the guidelines and success criteria in WCAG 2.0 there are a wide variety of techniques. The techniques fall into two categories:
Sufficient techniques: techniques or a combination of techniques that are sufficient for meeting the success criteria.
Advisory techniques: techniques that should be considered (where relevant) to make content more accessible. The advisory techniques go beyond what is required by the individual success criteria and are not covered by these factsheets.
Page title
SC | Description |
---|---|
2.4.2 | G88: Providing descriptive titles for Web pages AND associating a title with a Web page using the following technique: |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
Text content
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
Headings
SC | Description |
---|---|
1.3.1 | G115: Using semantic elements to mark up structureMaking information and relationships conveyed through presentation programmatically determinable by using the following technique: |
2.4.6 | G130: Providing descriptive headingsG131: Providing descriptive labelsNote: Headings and labels must be programmatically determined, per Success Criterion 1.3.1. |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
Link text
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
WCAG 2.0 Common Failures
The following are common mistakes that are considered failures of each Success Criterion by the WCAG Working Group.
Page Title
SC 2.4.2 Page Titled
Failure | Description |
---|---|
F25 | Failure of Success Criterion 2.4.2 due to the title of a Web page not identifying the contents. |
Text content
SC 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Failure | Description |
---|---|
F2 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.3.1 due to using changes in text presentation to convey information without using the appropriate markup or text. |
F17 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.3.1 and 4.1.1 due to insufficient information in DOM to determine one-to-one relationships (e.g., between labels with same id) in HTML. |
F43 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.3.1 due to using structural markup in a way that does not represent relationships in the content. |
F87 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.3.1 due to inserting non-decorative content by using :before and :after pseudo-elements and the ‘content’ property in CSS. |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
SC 1.3.2 Meaningful sequence
Failure | Description |
---|---|
F33 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.3.1 and 1.3.2 due to using white space characters to create multiple columns in plain text content. |
F32 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.3.2 due to using white space characters to control spacing within a word. |
F1 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.3.2 due to changing the meaning of content by positioning information with CSS. |
SC 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics
Failure | Description |
---|---|
F14 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.3.3 due to identifying content only by its shape or location. |
F26 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.3.3 due to using a graphical symbol alone to convey information. |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
SC 1.4.1 Use of Color
Failure | Description |
---|---|
F13 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.1.1 and 1.4.1 due to having a text alternative that does not include information that is conveyed by color differences in the image. |
F73 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.4.1 due to creating links that are not visually evident without color vision. |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
SC 2.1.1 Keyboard
Failure | Description |
---|---|
F54 | Failure of Success Criterion 2.1.1 due to using only pointing-device-specific event handlers (including gesture) for a function. |
SC 3.2.4 Consistent Navigation
Failure | Description |
---|---|
F31 | Failure of Success Criterion 3.2.4 due to using two different labels for the same function on different Web pages within a set of Web pages. |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
Headings
SC 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Failure | Description |
---|---|
F2 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.3.1 due to using changes in text presentation to convey information without using the appropriate markup or text. |
F43 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.3.1 due to using structural markup in a way that does not represent relationships in the content. |
Link Text
SC 1.1.1 Non-text Content
Failure | Description |
---|---|
F39 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.1.1 due to providing a text alternative that is not null (e.g., alt=“spacer” or alt=“image”) for images that should be ignored by assistive technology. |
F72 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.1.1 due to using ASCII art without providing a text alternative. |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
SC 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Failure | Description |
---|---|
F2 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.3.1 due to using changes in text presentation to convey information without using the appropriate markup or text. |
F42 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.3.1 and 2.1.1 due to using scripting events to emulate links in a way that is not programmatically determinable. |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]
SC 2.1.1 Keyboard
Failure | Description |
---|---|
F54 | Failure of Success Criterion 2.1.1 due to using only pointing-device-specific event handlers (including gesture) for a function. |
F55 | Failure of Success Criteria 2.1.1, 2.4.7, and 3.2.1 due to using script to remove focus when focus is received. |
F42 | Failure of Success Criterion 1.3.1 and 2.1.1 due to using scripting events to emulate links in a way that is not programmatically determinable. |
SC 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context)
Failure | Description |
---|---|
F63 | Failure of Success Criterion 2.4.4 due to providing link context only in content that is not related to the link. |
SC 2.4.7 Focus Visible
Failure | Description |
---|---|
F55 | Failure of Success Criteria 2.1.1, 2.4.7, and 3.2.1 due to using script to remove focus when focus is received. |
F78 | Failure of Success Criterion 2.4.7 due to styling element outlines and borders in a way that removes or renders non-visible the visual focus indicator. |
SC 3.2.4 Consistent Identification
Failure | Description |
---|---|
F31 | Failure of Success Criterion 3.2.4 due to using two different labels for the same function on different Web pages within a set of Web pages. |
Copyright © W3C 11 December 2008 World Wide Web Consortium [Status: Recommendation]