What is WCAG? Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Explained
Quick Definition: WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the international standard for web accessibility, providing guidelines to make websites usable by people with disabilities.
WCAG Explained
WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. It's developed by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) and serves as the global standard for web accessibility.
The guidelines are organized around four principles, often called POUR: - **Perceivable**: Information must be presentable in ways users can perceive - **Operable**: Interface components must be operable by all users - **Understandable**: Information and operation must be understandable - **Robust**: Content must work with current and future technologies
WCAG has three conformance levels: - **Level A**: Minimum accessibility (25 criteria) - **Level AA**: Addresses major barriers (13 additional criteria) - **Level AAA**: Highest level (23 additional criteria)
Most laws and regulations reference **WCAG 2.1 Level AA** as the standard.
Why WCAG Matters for Your Website
For Users
Following WCAG means people who are blind, deaf, have motor disabilities, or cognitive differences can use your website.
Legal Risk
WCAG 2.1 AA is referenced by the ADA, Section 508, and accessibility laws in most countries. Non-compliance creates legal liability.
SEO Impact
Many WCAG requirements (alt text, heading structure, link text) directly improve SEO and benefit all users.
How to Check for WCAG Issues
AccessiCheck scans your website against WCAG 2.1 AA criteria and identifies specific violations. Our scanner uses axe-core, the same engine used by major accessibility tools.
Check Your Website NowHow to Fix WCAG Issues
Start with automated testing
Run an automated scan to identify obvious issues. Automated tools catch about 30-40% of accessibility problems.
Prioritize by impact
Fix critical and serious issues first. These have the biggest impact on users and legal risk.
Test with real users
Automated testing can't catch everything. Test with screen readers and keyboard-only navigation.
Build accessibility into your process
Train your team, add accessibility to your QA process, and test during development, not after launch.
Related Terms
Check Your Website for WCAG Issues
Get a free accessibility scan and see exactly what needs to be fixed.
Start Free Scan