Make Your Website Accessible to Everyone

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European Union regulation that took effect in 2018 and helps to allow citizens the right to control their personal data. This includes data within the EU as well as data that is transmitted to other regions.

To learn more about how UserWay’s Accessibility Widget complies with GDPR regulations, please contact us.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the gold standard for inclusive design to make websites and digital content more accessible for people with disabilities. As technology and trends evolve, WCAG undergoes periodic evaluation and updates by the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and working groups in the disability community. The latest update is WCAG 2.2. When a business or agency has achieved “WCAG 2.2 compliance,” they have applied design principles that provide a high level of accessibility to their web content.

“Guidelines” are a set of recommendations or best practices designed to help organizations, or individuals achieve a certain goal or standard. They are not legally binding in and of themselves, and organizations or individuals are not required to follow them, so we generally speak of conforming with them. Laws, on the other hand, are binding rules or regulations that are established by a government or other legal authority. We “comply” with laws.

While the WCAG are not legally binding in and of themselves, the guidelines are widely recognized as the international standard for web accessibility, and many laws and regulations reference the WCAG as the benchmark for complying with the law. This is why people speak of WCAG compliance as a synonym for WCAG conformance.

What are the WCAG 2.2 compliance guidelines?

WCAG contains technical instructions and success criteria for website owners, designers, and developers. These criteria help them optimize websites to accommodate specific needs, such as assistive technology, screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, and more.

The WCAG 2.2 guidelines require websites to include the following:

• Strong contrast between text and background color
• Descriptive alt text for all graphics and images
• Closed captions and transcriptions for video content
• Form labels for all input fields
• Appropriate descriptive tags for all navigation links and buttons

Nearly all digital accessibility regulations worldwide are based explicitly or implicitly on WCAG.

Why Should I Care About Compliance with WCAG 2.2 AA Standards?

Organizations and their design teams should be familiar with the WCAG 2.2 guidelines and continually monitor web content to ensure it meets requirements.

There are three commonly cited reasons to strive for WCAG compliance:

1. Ensuring inclusion for more people
2. Optimizing website performance and functionality
3. Compliance with federal and international regulations

Inclusion

Making websites accessible means removing barriers users face when navigating content. Expanding access means including people with disabilities related to vision, hand motor skills, and neurodiversity. Accessibility also refers to providing access to content from a variety of devices, including mobile phones, tablets, and assistive technology.

Disabilities impact everyone. More than 1 billion people worldwide have a disability. This doesn’t include the countless others who may experience changes in their ability to perform everyday tasks due to age, injury, illness, and even situational limitations.

Optimization

Creating content that adheres to WCAG principles and success criteria results in a well-structured and streamlined website that works for more people. This means a better user experience, more traffic, more conversions, increased sales, fewer abandoned carts, less churn, and a lower bounce rate.

For example, WCAG requires alternative and descriptive text for all non-text content. For an e-Commerce website, coding alt text tags and including transcripts for product marketing material will ensure people who have vision disabilities can buy things from your website. Additionally, keywords used in alternative text and transcripts can help better your SEO.

Regulations

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are the basis for nearly all digital accessibility regulations worldwide. Organizations that fail to comply with digital accessibility laws expose themselves to significant liabilities, including fines and civil lawsuits.

In the U.S, WCAG 2.0 compliance is explicitly required for government agencies and federal contractors under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. According to many court rulings and the outcomes of U.S. Department of Justice actions, private U.S. businesses and organizations are also subject to website accessibility laws under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Based on numerous consent orders and settlement agreements, the ADA implicitly requires these private entities to meet WCAG standards.

• WCAG 2.1 Level AA is required under EN 301 549 for the European Union.
• The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) requires WCAG 2.0 Level AA compliance.
• In Australia, the Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy requires all government agencies comply with WCAG. Private organizations are recommended to apply the WCAG to meet requirements under the Australian Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
• The Israel Standard (IS) 5568 applies to most businesses and requires them to adhere to WCAG standards.

With so many laws and regulations pointing directly to the WCAG, conforming with the guidelines means complying with the related law.

What does WCAG 2.2 AA Compliance Mean?

To understand what “WCAG 2.2 AA” or “WCAG 2.2 AAA” mean, we need to break down the terminology.

WCAG Versions

WCAG is a set of guidelines that has been published and maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for nearly 30 years and has undergone a number of revisions since WCAG 1.0, which is now obsolete. The WCAG guidelines are created with input from a diverse, global group of member organizations, academics, W3C staff, and the general public. Members of the UserWay team also contribute to the development of W3C standards.

• WCAG 1.0 - May 5, 1999 (obsolete)
• WCAG 2.0 - December, 2008
• WCAG 2.1 - June 5, 2018
• WCAG 2.2 - October, 2023

WCAG 2.0 and 2.1 are the most commonly referenced versions by laws and international regulations. WCAG 2.1 added 17 new success criteria. WCAG 2.2 expands on 2.1 further with more criteria around mobile interface accessibility, as well as a focus on people with cognitive or learning disabilities and users with low vision. WCAG 2.2 guidelines are the latest update for WCAG standards as of August 2023.

This latest update builds off several pillars of accessible web design that seek to help developers create content that is inclusive for people with visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive impairments. The Working Group responsible for WCAG continues to develop the standard, and WCAG 3.0 is already being drafted.

WCAG Levels

Now that we know about different versions of WCAG, we can begin to explain what someone means when they say that websites should comply with WCAG 2.2 AA standards.

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) has three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. These levels are used to define the accessibility standards for web content. Each level has specific criteria that need to be met to ensure better accessibility for people with disabilities. The higher the level, the more inclusive and accessible the content becomes.

These levels include:

• Level A: This is the basic level of accessibility. It includes guidelines that address the most fundamental barriers for users with disabilities. Meeting Level A ensures that some basic accessibility needs are addressed. Example: Providing alternative text for images so that screen readers can read aloud what the image is about. This helps people with visual impairments understand the content of the images.
• Level AA: This is an intermediate level of accessibility, more comprehensive than Level A. Meeting Level AA means going a step further to accommodate a broader range of disabilities. It includes all Level A requirements and additional criteria. Example: Providing audio descriptions for videos to make them accessible to people who are blind or low vision. This ensures that everyone can understand the content of the videos, not just those who can visually perceive the video.
• Level AAA: This is the highest level of accessibility. Meeting Level AAA indicates a very high standard of inclusivity and provides the best possible experience for users with disabilities. It includes all Level A and Level AA requirements, as well as more demanding criteria. Example: Providing users with text transcript, audio description, sign language interpretation, and robust audio descriptions for streaming media. This helps people with different disabilities like low vision, blind, deaf, and hard of hearing perceive content.

The difference between the levels is in the scope of accessibility they cover. While Level A addresses some basic accessibility needs, Level AA builds upon that to cater to a broader range of users. Level AAA goes even further, ensuring an exceptionally inclusive experience for users with various disabilities. Meeting Level AAA is generally more challenging and may require substantial design and development efforts compared to Level A or AA. However, all three levels are essential for creating a web environment that is truly accessible and usable by everyone. For WCAG compliance, businesses must conform to Level A and Level AA success criteria. AAA conformance is optional but represents the highest level of accessibility.

Success criteria under most WCAG guidelines determine whether content meets WCAG 2.2 Level A, AA, or AAA profiles. For instance, the guidelines for website navigation outlined in Success Criterion 1.2 provide different levels of WCAG classification based on their design and usage. Notice how the granularity increases as the criteria move from A to AAA.

SC 1.2

To get a clear understanding of the distinctions among Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA, let's explore an illustrative example. In this case, we will focus on success criteria associated with video content to demonstrate how each criterion encompasses unique requirements for achieving success.

• Level A - 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative
• Level AA - 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded)
• Level AAA - 1.2.8 - Media Alternative (Prerecorded)

1. Success Criterion 1.2.3 (Level A): Videos with significant visual content must also have another way to perceive for people with visual impairments. This can be done with an audio description or a text alternative.

2. Success Criterion 1.2.5 (Level AA): This criterion focuses on providing audio descriptions for prerecorded video content. It ensures that people who cannot see the video can still comprehend its content by listening to the audio descriptions.

3. Success Criterion 1.2.8 (Level AAA):  This success criterion asks to provide a text transcript of all the audio content, including the audio description. This helps users who have disabilities related to vision and hearing challenges, such as low vision individuals who cannot perceive captions/visual content, and users who have hearing challenges and cannot perceive audio content.

As the WCAG levels progress from A to AA to AAA, the success criteria become more stringent, requiring additional accessibility measures. By meeting the success criteria at each level, websites become increasingly accessible, making information and multimedia content available to a diverse audience of different abilities.

The Four WCAG Principles

The four principles that guide WCAG serve as the ultimate goals for web accessibility. The following principles provide a philosophy for achieving accessibility on websites globally.

1. Perceivable: To ensure that users can access and understand the information and interface elements of a website, it is important to present content in a way that can be perceived through at least one of the user's senses.

2. Operable: It is essential that user interface elements and navigation are fully operable by users. This means that users must be able to easily interact with the interface, and should not be required to perform actions they are unable to do.

3. Understandable: Users must be able to understand the information presented, and should know how to effectively use and navigate the website.

4. Robust: A wide range of user agents, including assistive technologies, should be able to access website information and use the interface. This means that users should be able to continue accessing content even as technologies change.

13 High Level Guidelines in the WCAG Principles

There are also 13 guidelines that fall within the four WCAG principles explained above. A good way to think about their relationship is how these measurable objectives can be used to meet general goals. They are described below and grouped with the principle they support.

Perceivable

• Text Alternatives - Text alternatives are equivalent replacements for non-text elements, such as providing a label for a form field or a description for an image. These alternatives enable users who cannot see or interact with the non-text content to understand its purpose and context.
• Time-Based Media - Alt text, transcripts, and closed captions should synchronize with interactive media.
• Adaptable - All content should be capable of adjusting without losing information when the display size of a website is changed.
• Distinguishable - Content should be formatted with appropriate spacing and text size. This includes strong contrast of foreground text with background color and images.

Operable

• Keyboard Accessible - Websites should be completely and easily operable through keyboard-only navigation. This means websites should not disrupt typical functions of keystrokes or short-cut commands.
• Enough Time - Ample time should be programmed for all time-based media and access without losing the chance to read or enter respective responses.
• Seizures and Physical Reactions - All display content and website design should avoid excessive flashing and other typical triggers for seizures.
• Navigable - A website should offer users straightforward and logical ways to discover and find content. Navigation menus and drop-downs should make sense and be easy to use. Heading and subheading tags should be used to break up long text boxes.
• Input Modalities - Users should have a similar website experience even with different options for input beyond just a keyboard and mouse. This includes switch controls, eye trackers, and voice commands.

Understandable

• Readable - All writing should be clear and understandable, avoiding jargon, unusual words and having limited acronyms. Where unfamiliar language is required, it should be qualified with definitions and the full unabbreviated phrase.
• Predictable - Websites and content should be built to function as people expect them to, with vertical scroll orientation and all navigation links included in the heading and footer margins.
• Input Assistance - Users should be able to use saved browser input information to avoid mistakes and ensure accuracy when attempting to fill out login fields and sign-up forms.

Robust

• Compatible - Websites should strive to be as compatible as possible with current and future user agents, including assistive technologies, in order to provide the best user experience for all users.

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According to the ADA, a person with a disability has a physical or mental condition that significantly hinders their daily life skills. Therefore, ADA compliance is essential to providing an equitable world to people with disabilities because it ensures they can participate in our shared society. Yet the ADA requirements don’t refer to every potential situation, including specific language concerning websites. Nonetheless, ADA accessibility guidelines from the government and courts continually help protect people with disabilities to the full extent of the law.

What is ADA and What Does it Impact?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 constitutes a series of protective measures for individuals with disabilities. This legislation was necessitated by the tendency of numerous businesses to only fulfill the bare minimum standards, coupled with the prevalent attitude among many business proprietors that the expenses associated with ensuring accessibility do not warrant the investment.

In addition, the ADA protects people with disabilities from discrimination and guarantees them equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

For example, Title III impacts a business’s customer service practices, which explains why accessibility legislation is commonly called ADA Title III. ADA Title III refers to public regions and public accommodations like schools, eating establishments, hospitality locations, physician facilities, retail outlets, museums, and every employment environment.

What Criteria Do ADA Compliance Standards Cover?

1. Employers must accommodate staff members with disabilities, including accessible entryways, restrooms, and proper office furniture and devices.

2. All business types must enable access to their services for customers with disabilities. In addition, they must provide “reasonable modifications” to their buildings, which accommodate people with disabilities, including:

• Wheelchair ramps
• Accessible restrooms
• American Sign Language explanations
• Service animal provisions

Businesses must meet these ADA compliance requirements:

• Ramp access for wheelchairs and other mobility devices
• Interface mechanisms for visually impaired
• Interpretive devices for the hearing impaired or qualified interpreters
• Service animal provisions

What is ADA Website Accessibility?

Physical access elements of the ADA are most familiar to the general public, including wheelchair ramps, smooth crosswalk transitions, and convenient parking spots. However, the law also applies to many overlooked aspects by people without disabilities.

Concerning website disability compliance, ADA legal standards require government and businesses to provide accessible reading alternatives for people with disabilities. Necessary online services must be accessible to everyone, just like a physical door. The law strives to empower all members of society to participate in our digital and physical spaces. Unfortunately, not everyone understands the importance of digital accessibility— especially those who’ve never been denied access because of a disability.

Websites didn’t exist when the ADA became law in 1990, which explains why its original guidelines only describe physical spaces. Subsequently, this focus on physical space has caused much ambiguity on whether the legislation applies to the digital world and to what extent.

Unfortunately, Congress hasn’t updated or amended the ADA—still, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and federal district and circuit courts have stepped in and interpreted the law inclusively. This lack of clarity has resulted in many businesses and government agencies being found liable for inaccessible websites.

How Did Accessibility Become the New Standard?

For decades, people with disabilities faced frequent discrimination regarding employment, housing, schooling, and other social functions. Historically, they generally didn’t and couldn’t get equitable treatment. So, not surprisingly, disability rights emerged around the same time as the American civil rights movement of the 1960s. These efforts continued into the 1970s when activists pressured Congress to encompass civil rights language for people with disabilities. As a result, The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was passed, prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the federal sector.

It’s also important to note that the National Council on Disability, a crucial federal measure, wasn’t formed until 1981. This group’s policy proposal was the foundation of the ADA, which became law nine years later. Congress still needs to pass an amendment to the ADA. Independent bodies provide and update guidelines, and courts tend to accept these standards, making them close to de facto law.

Accessibility isn’t just a disability rights concern for the DOJ—they also see it as a civil rights issue. Congress enacted the requirements for ADA compliance to ensure people with disabilities are treated equally to everyone else in society. As many ADA guidelines also include terms like discrimination, integration, and segregation, it’s no coincidence that these words are in tandem with the civil rights movement.

Currently, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), developed by the W3C, is the best standard cited by the U.S. Courts. In addition, other governments and independent accessibility organizations have created global standards that resemble WCAG.

What Are The 5 Titles of The ADA?

Let’s take a brief dip into the five sections of the ADA so you can get a better picture of the law’s intent.

Title I: Employment Law

Title I prevents companies, governments, and unions from discriminating against people with disabilities concerning employment app practices, salary, training, etc. Additionally, Title 1 affects any company with 15+ employees (this includes staffing companies).

Title II: Public Services, State and Local Government:

Title II applies to state and local government entities and public transportation. It ensures that public and government services or programs don’t exclude people with disabilities. One of the essential parts of Title II is the integration mandate, which prevents local and state governments from segregating people with disabilities. The integration mandate extends the prohibition on discrimination established by section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to all activities of state and local governments regardless of whether they receive federal financial assistance.

Title III: Public Accommodations and Services Operated by Private Entities

Title III applies to privately-run organizations. It requires that spaces within privately-run organizations used for public services be accessible to people with disabilities. This requirement includes locations that fall into numerous ADA classifications, like eating establishments, educational facilities, corporate offices, etc. Additionally, these entities’ services must accommodate people of all abilities.

Even though the accessibility of physical buildings is the most notable result of this title, it’s also been a catalyst for subsequent regulations concerning ADA compliant websites. Many businesses aren’t sure how to make their websites accessible or what level of accessibility is enough—partly because there are so many different types of disabilities.

Title IV: Telecommunications

Title IV targets telephone and television access for people with hearing and speech disabilities. Telephone companies must also provide telecommunications relay services (TRS). These services enable those who rely on teletypewriters (TTYs) to make voice calls. This title also mandates that PSAs with federal funding provide closed captioning.

Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions

Title V covers various ADA elements but primarily forbids retribution against anyone who pursues their ADA rights.

What is the Department of Justice’ update to Title II?

On April 24, 2024, the DOJ published a regulation applying to Title II of the ADA requiring state and local government websites and mobile apps to comply with WCAG 2.1 AA.

State and local entities covering areas with 50,000 or more people must comply by April 24, 2026, while those with less than 50,000 have until April 26, 2027.

The rule sets a higher standard than the federal government's own requirements under Section 508, which mandates WCAG 2.0 AA compliance.

What are the consequences of non-compliance for state and local governments?

If a state or local government doesn't fully meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA, they might argue that the minor deviation is so insignificant it doesn't affect access for people with disabilities. However, this does not excuse them from making efforts to comply with the standards. They must prove that any noncompliance does not significantly affect accessibility to avoid violating the rule.

For example, a state’s online renewal form that doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA can cause significant problems for users with manual dexterity disabilities, requiring more time and assistance to complete tasks, violating the DOJ’s rule. Conversely, a minor deviation like a slightly lower color contrast ratio on a park information page might not prevent most users with vision disabilities from accessing the content, and the state could argue this does not constitute a violation.

Why Is There A Rise In ADA Compliance Lawsuits?

Website requirements for ADA compliance is a serious matter for any responsible business owner, especially considering the proliferation of related lawsuits in recent years. And, although the ADA does not explicitly call out website requirements, the DOJ has proactively enforced web accessibility laws. Moreover, federal and state courts have ruled that the ADA and related state statutes apply to inaccessible websites.

Why are we seeing more lawsuits related to website accessibility?

The surge in website accessibility lawsuits is largely due to the increasing necessity of the internet for daily activities, requiring that digital spaces be accessible to people with disabilities. Additionally, the lack of specific regulatory guidelines under the ADA for web accessibility leaves room for legal challenges as organizations struggle to meet varied standards of compliance.

Statistics reveal a dramatic uptick in legal action:

• Over 4,000 lawsuits in 2021 – 79% against retail/e-commerce.
• 816 ADA Title III lawsuits in 2017
• 2,200 Title III cases in 2018 (180% increase)

While there was a decline in ADA Title III lawsuits in federal courts, the count still topped 8,200 for the second straight year. From 2013 to 2021, there was a steady climb in these cases, peaking at a significant 11,452 in 2021. Navigating this evolving landscape requires staying informed on ADA guidelines and proactively making web accessibility a priority.

Navigating ADA Compliance: 7 Key Guidelines and Tips for Your Website

The tips below will help you develop an ADA compatible website.

1. Integrate Keyboard Navigation

People with diminished mobility struggle to navigate websites with a mouse. Keyboard navigation enables users to scan and jump to content that matters most to them.

2. Provide Alt Text for Website Imagery

Alt text provides hearable image descriptions to screen-readers users with visual disabilities. It also helps users who turn off images due to sluggish internet connections. Concise and straightforward alt text can also positively impact SEO results.

3. Provide Appropriate Website Forms

Identify labels clearly and provide visual cues for form fields that show the information end users need to provide. Users who rely on screen readers also must know if their verifying information is valid or invalid—make sure your forms can report successful submissions or point site visitors back to the incorrect field.

4. Modify Timed Variables Accordingly

End users who use keyboard navigation typically need more time to use a website. Therefore, implement measures that stop time-outs from disrupting the end-user experience.

5. Provide Simple Imagery

Web pages crammed with too much visual content are among the most significant pain points for people with disabilities. Provide more open space and optimize color contrast to ensure digestible content for people of all abilities.

6. Audio and Video Alternatives

Provide corresponding transcripts for audio-only content and captions for all video elements. You can also integrate sign language interpretation for people with various hearing disabilities.

7. Remove Elements That May Cause Seizures

It’s best to avoid flashing imagery that may trigger serious episodes for people with epilepsy or similar medical challenges.

Rely on UserWay For Your ADA Compliance Needs

The AI-Powered UserWay Accessibility Widget can help your website comply with the ADA, the WCAG, and all other related standards. This ADA compliance software also ensures all your new content conforms with legal regulations. In addition, meeting the Americans With Disabilities Act guidelines, as defined by the DOJ, can help enhance your online sales. But at its core, accessibility is about opening your website to all end users, regardless of their abilities, because everyone should experience the digital world equally.

Please reach out for more details on the UserWay Accessibility Widget or click the link below to start a free trial.

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