WCAG

What is the WCAG?

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the globally recognized standard for accessible web content. They are published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and form the technical foundation for almost every national and international law on digital accessibility.

The current relevant version is WCAG 2.1 (since 2018), complemented by WCAG 2.2 (since 2023). The guidelines define how websites, apps, and other digital content should be designed so that they are usable for everyone, regardless of limitations in vision, hearing, motor skills, or cognition.

The four POUR principles

The WCAG is based on four fundamental principles:

• Perceivable: Content must be presented so that users can perceive it. That applies, for example, to alternative text for images, captions for videos, and sufficient color contrast.

• Operable: All features must be usable with a keyboard. There must be enough time for interactions and content must not trigger seizures.

• Understandable: Information and operation must be understandable. Text should be readable, navigation predictable, and input assistance available.

• Robust: Content must be built so that it can be interpreted reliably by different browsers and assistive technologies such as screen readers.

Conformance levels

The WCAG defines three conformance levels:

• Level A: Basic accessibility. Minimum requirement.

• Level AA: The standard required by every relevant law (BFSG, BITV, BaFG). Covers the most common barriers.

• Level AAA: Highest level. Not legally required, but recommended for maximum accessibility.

Why does the WCAG matter?

The WCAG is the universal reference for digital accessibility. Anyone who meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA also meets the technical requirements of the BFSG, the BITV, the BaFG, and EN 301 549. It is therefore the common denominator across every relevant law in Germany, Austria, and the EU.