The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are part of a series published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the main international standards organization for the Internet. They are a set of recommendations for improving web accessibility, primarily for people with disabilities—but also for all user agents, including highly limited devices, such as mobile phones. WCAG 2.0 was published in December 2008 and became an ISO standard, ISO/IEC 40500:2012 in October 2012. WCAG 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation on 5 October 2023.

__TOC__

History Earlier guidelines (1995–1998) The first web accessibility guideline was compiled by Gregg Vanderheiden and released in January 1995, just after the 1994 Second International Conference on the World-Wide Web (WWW II) in Chicago (where Tim Berners-Lee first mentioned disability access in a keynote speech after seeing a pre-conference workshop on accessibility led by Mike Paciello).

Over 38 different Web access guidelines followed from various authors and organizations over the next few years. These were brought together in the Unified Web Site Accessibility Guidelines compiled at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Version 8 of the Unified Web Site Accessibility Guidelines, published in 1998, served as the starting point for the W3C's WCAG 1.0.

Version 1 (1999–2000) The WCAG 1.0 were published and became a W3C recommendation on 5 May 1999. In February 2008, The WCAG Samurai, a group of developers independent of the W3C, and led by Joe Clark, published corrections for, and extensions to, the WCAG 1.0.

Version 2 (2001–present) The first concept proposal of WCAG 2.0 was published on 25 January 2001. In the following years new versions were published intended to solicit feedback from accessibility experts and members of the disability community. On 27 April 2006 a "Last Call Working Draft" was published. Due to the many amendments that were necessary, WCAG 2.0 was published again as a concept proposal on 17 May 2007, followed by a second "Last Call Working Draft" on 11 December 2007. In April 2008 the guidelines became a "Candidate Recommendation". On 3 November 2008 the guidelines became a "Proposed Recommendation". WCAG 2.0 was published as a W3C Recommendation on 11 December 2008.W3C: W3C Web Standard Defines Accessibility for Next Generation Web (press release, 11 December 2008). In October 2012, WCAG 2.0 were accepted by the International Organization for Standardization as an ISO International Standard, ISO/IEC 40500:2012. In early 2014, WCAG 2.0's Level A and Level AA success criteria were incorporated as references in clause 9.2 ("Web content requirements") of the European standard EN 301 549 published by ETSI.ETSI: EN 301 549 V1.1.1 (2014-02): Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe . Accessed 27 November 2015. EN 301 549 was produced in response to a mandate that the European Commission gave to the three official European Standardisation Organisations (CEN, CENELEC and ETSI) and is the first European Standard for ICT products and services.CEN-CENELEC: New European Standard will help to make ICT products and services accessible for all . 19 February 2014. Accessed 27 November 2015.CEN-CENELEC: Mandate 376 . (No date). Accessed 27 November 2015.

WCAG 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation on 5 October 2023. Nine new criteria make their definitive debut in this new version of the WCAG standard. New sections have also been introduced that detail aspects of the specification which may impact privacy and security.

Version 3 (under development) In early 2021, the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group presented the first public working draft (FPWD) of the future WCAG 3.0, intended to provide a range of recommendations for making web content more accessible. , the WCAG 3.0 working draft was last updated in September 2025. No part of WCAG 3.0 is an official recommendation at this time. WCAG 3.0 is a draft undergoing significant development efforts, and the expected release date as an official recommendation is not defined.

Versions

Version 1 WCAG 1.0 consist of 14 guidelines—each of which describes a general principle of accessible design. Each guideline covers a basic theme of web accessibility and is associated with one or more checkpoints that describes how to apply that guideline to particular webpage features.

Guideline 1: Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content Guideline 2: Do not rely on colour alone Guideline 3: Use markup and style sheets, and do so properly Guideline 4: Clarify natural language usage Guideline 5: Create tables that transform gracefully Guideline 6: Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully Guideline 7: Ensure user control of time sensitive content changes Guideline 8: Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces Guideline 9: Design for device independence Guideline 10: User interim solutions Guideline 11: Use W3C technologies and guidelines Guideline 12: Provide context and orientation information Guideline 13: Provide clear navigation mechanisms Guideline 14: Ensure that documents are clear and simple

Each of the in total 65 WCAG 1.0 checkpoints has an assigned priority level based on the checkpoint's impact on accessibility:

Priority 1: Web developers must satisfy these requirements, otherwise it will be impossible for one or more groups to access the Web content. Conformance to this level is described as A. Priority 2: Web developers should satisfy these requirements, otherwise some groups will find it difficult to access the Web content. Conformance to this level is described as AA or Double-A. Priority 3: Web developers may satisfy these requirements to make it easier for some groups to access the Web content. Conformance to this level is described as AAA or Triple-A.

Version 2 WCAG 2.0 consist of twelve guidelines organized under four principles (websites must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust). Each guideline has testable success criteria (61 in all). The W3C's Techniques for WCAG 2.0 is a list of techniques that help authors meet the guidelines and success criteria. The techniques are periodically updated whereas the principles, guidelines and success criteria are stable and do not change. WCAG 2.0 uses the same three levels of conformance (A, AA, AAA) as WCAG 1.0, but has redefined them. The WCAG working group maintains an extensive list of web accessibility techniques and common failure cases for WCAG 2.0.

WCAG 2.1 is backwards-compatible with WCAG 2.0, which it extends with a further 17 success criteria.

WCAG 2.2 is backwards-compatible with WCAG 2.1 extending it a further nine success criteria and with WCAG 2.0 extending it a further 26 success criteria (including the 17 success criteria introduced by WCAG 2.1). Additionally, WCAG 2.2 has deprecated and removed the 4.1.1 success criterion.

+ WCAG 2 Guidelines Principles Guidelines Success Criteria Conformance Level Revision 1: Perceivable1.1 Text Alternatives1.1.1 Non-text Content 2.01.2 Time-based Media1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded) 2.01.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) 2.01.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded) 2.01.2.4 Captions (Live) 2.01.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) 2.01.2.6 Sign Language (Prerecorded) 2.01.2.7 Extended Audio Description (Prerecorded) 2.01.2.8 Media Alternative (Prerecorded) 2.01.2.9 Audio-only (Live) 2.01.3 Adaptable1.3.1 Info and Relationships 2.01.3.2 Meaningful Sequence 2.01.3.3 Sensory Characteristics 2.01.3.4 Orientation 2.11.3.5 Identify Input Purpose 2.11.3.6 Identify Purpose 2.11.4 Distinguishable1.4.1 Use of Color 2.01.4.2 Audio Control 2.01.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) 2.01.4.4 Resize text 2.01.4.5 Images of Text 2.01.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced) 2.01.4.7 Low or No Background Audio 2.01.4.8 Visual Presentation 2.01.4.9 Images of Text (No Exception) 2.01.4.10 Reflow 2.11.4.11 Non-Text Contrast 2.11.4.12 Text Spacing 2.11.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus 2.1 2: Operable2.1 Keyboard Accessible2.1.1 Keyboard 2.02.1.2 No Keyboard Trap 2.02.1.3 Keyboard (No Exception) 2.02.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts 2.12.2 Enough Time2.2.1 Timing Adjustable 2.02.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide 2.02.2.3 No Timing 2.02.2.4 Interruptions 2.02.2.5 Re-authenticating 2.02.2.6 Timeouts 2.12.3 Seizures2.3.1 Three Flashes or Below Threshold 2.02.3.2 Three Flashes 2.02.3.3 Animation from Interactions 2.12.4 Navigable2.4.1 Bypass Blocks 2.02.4.2 Page Titled 2.02.4.3 Focus Order 2.02.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) 2.02.4.5 Multiple Ways 2.02.4.6 Headings and Labels 2.02.4.7 Focus Visible 2.02.4.8 Location 2.02.4.9 Link Purpose (Link Only) 2.02.4.10 Section Headings 2.02.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) 2.22.4.12 Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced) 2.22.4.13 Focus Appearance 2.22.5 Input Modalities2.5.1 Pointer Gestures 2.12.5.2 Pointer Cancellation 2.12.5.3 Label in Name 2.12.5.4 Motion Actuation 2.12.5.5 Target Size 2.12.5.6 Concurrent Input Mechanisms 2.12.5.7 Dragging Movements 2.22.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) 2.2 3: Understandable3.1 Readable3.1.1 Language of Page 2.03.1.2 Language of Parts 2.03.1.3 Unusual Words 2.03.1.4 Abbreviations 2.03.1.5 Reading Level 2.03.1.6 Pronunciation 2.03.2 Predictable3.2.1 On Focus 2.03.2.2 On Input 2.03.2.3 Consistent Navigation 2.03.2.4 Consistent Identification 2.03.2.5 Change on Request 2.03.2.6 Consistent Help 2.23.3 Input Assistance3.3.1 Error Identification 2.03.3.2 Labels or Instructions 2.03.3.3 Error Suggestion 2.03.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data) 2.03.3.5 Help 2.03.3.6 Error Prevention (All) 2.03.3.7 Redundant Entry 2.23.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum) 2.23.3.9 Accessible Authentication (Enhanced) 2.2 4: Robust4.1 Compatible (deprecated by WCAG 2.2) 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value 2.04.1.3 Status Messages 2.1

WCAG referenced by law This section only refers to specific instances where WCAG, or a closely related derivative thereof, is specifically codified into law. There are many laws relating to accessibility in general and which may apply to websites, though they do not necessarily refer to WCAG. It is nevertheless considered prudent to follow WCAG guidelines to help protect against potential lawsuits relating to accessibility.

Some jurisdictions are moving to build legislation around the latest recommended release of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative. This ensures that the policies remain up to date.

Australia The Australian government has mandated via the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 that all Australian government websites meet the WCAG 2.0 level A accessibility requirements.

Canada Regulations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 require that public web content of certain Ontario organizations complies with WCAG 2.0 Level AA.

In 2010 Donna Jodhan brought a case to the Supreme Court of Canada against the Government of Canada. In 2012 the Supreme Court arrived at what is now known as the Jodhan decision caused the Canadian federal government to require all online web pages, documents and videos available externally and internally to meet the accessibility requirements of WCAG 2.0.

In 2019, the Government of Canada implemented the Accessible Canada Act.

European Union Directive 2016/2102 requires websites and mobile applications of public sector (i.e. government) bodies to conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA. As of June 2021, the directive covers websites and mobile apps. The European Parliament approved the directive in October 2016, the European Commission updated the WCAG reference from 2.0 to 2.1 in December 2018.

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) became legally applicable in EU member states on 28 June 2025. The EAA will require websites, apps, ebooks, ecommerce platforms, PDFs and others to conform to WCAG 2.1 AA criteria within the EU.

Israel