WCAG Compliance Levels and What They Mean for Accessibility

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) compliance levels set the standard for digital accessibility. They define how usable your website or app is for people with disabilities and determine whether you meet legal and user expectations.

This article explains different WCAG compliance levels for accessibility and how to ensure compliance.

What Is WCAG Compliance?

WCAG compliance means following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to make websites and apps usable for people with disabilities. These guidelines are created by the W3C and are built around four main principles: content must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

These include:

• Providing alt text for non-text content like images and icons
• Ensuring all functions are accessible via keyboard navigation
• Using sufficient color contrast between text and background
• Avoiding content that flashes more than three times in one second
• Offering labels and instructions for form inputs

Meeting these criteria helps ensure that content is accessible to users with visual, auditory, physical, or cognitive disabilities and improves overall usability.

WCAG Principles: The Foundation of Accessibility

WCAG is built on four core principles that define how content must be structured to be accessible. These principles, often referred to by the acronym POUR, guide all levels of WCAG compliance.

• Perceivable: Users must be able to identify content and interface elements. This includes text alternatives for images, video captions, and adaptable layouts that work with assistive technologies.
• Operable: Users must be able to interact with all components. This means navigation should be possible using a keyboard, content must not trigger seizures, and users must have enough time to read or use the content.
• Understandable: Content and operation must be clear. This includes consistent navigation, readable text, and helpful error messages for form inputs.
• Robust: Content must work with different technologies, including current and future assistive tools. This involves using clean HTML and following proper coding standards so screen readers and other tools can interpret the content correctly.

Different WCAG Compliance Levels

The WCAG compliance levels are divided into three levels to accommodate varying accessibility needs and implementation complexity. These levels help organizations prioritize and meet accessibility requirements step-by-step.

WCAG Level A: Basic Accessibility

What it is:

Level A is the minimum standard for web accessibility. It removes the most serious barriers that would otherwise completely prevent users with disabilities from accessing a website’s basic content and functionality.

Examples:

• Alternative Text: Images must have text alternatives (“alt text”) so screen readers can explain graphics (e.g., a company logo’s alt text says “Company Logo”).
• Keyboard Navigation: All functions must be available by keyboard alone, not requiring a mouse (e.g., tabbing moves through menu items in logical order).
• Form Labels: All fields and controls must have clear labels (e.g., a search bar labeled “Search”).
• No Color-Only Communication: Critical cues use more than just color (e.g., required fields marked with both red and an asterisk).
• No Unexpected Changes: Elements can’t unexpectedly shift focus or context when interacted with.

WCAG Level AA: Improved Accessibility

What it is:

Level AA adds requirements to make web content easier to use for a wider range of people with disabilities—addressing issues like color contrast, clear page structure, and helpful error messages. Level AA is the most common legal and industry goal.

Examples:

• Contrast Ratio: Text/background contrast must be at least 4.5:1 for readability (e.g., dark blue text on a white background passes; light gray does not).
• Consistent Navigation: Navigation and interface elements are consistent across all pages (e.g., the main menu remains in the same place everywhere).
• Headings and Structure: Proper heading levels and page structure help screen reader users navigate (e.g., logical H1-H2-H3 hierarchy).
• Live Captions: Live audio content provides captions for people with hearing disabilities.
• Error Suggestions: Forms provide suggestions to help users fix input errors (e.g., “Please enter a valid email address”).

WCAG Level AAA: Enhanced Accessibility

What it is:

Level AAA is the highest standard, aimed at people with more complex or multiple disabilities. It isn’t always feasible for all content, but striving for some AAA features increases accessibility further.

Examples:

• Higher Contrast: Text/background contrast boosts to 7:1 (e.g., black on white).
• Sign Language for Videos: Pre-recorded videos offer sign language interpretation (e.g., an inset interpreter alongside video).
• Simplified Language: Content is written simply, or easy-read summaries are provided.
• Extended Audio Descriptions: Videos offer additional narration describing important visual details.
• Multiple Ways to Navigate: Besides the main menu, options like site search and a site map are available.

Summary Table

Which WCAG Version Should You Follow?

The most widely adopted version today is WCAG 2.1, which builds on the earlier WCAG 2.0 by adding 17 new success criteria. These additions address accessibility gaps for users with cognitive and learning disabilities, low vision, and those using mobile devices.

WCAG 2.2, published as a W3C Recommendation on October 5, 2023, further extends WCAG 2.1 by introducing nine additional success criteria. These new criteria focus on enhancing accessibility for users with cognitive and motor impairments and touch interfaces.

Key Success Criteria in WCAG 2.1

WCAG 2.1 introduced several essential success criteria, including:

• Orientation (AA): Ensures content is not restricted to a single display orientation.

• Identify Input Purpose (AA): Facilitates the identification of user input fields by user agents and assistive technologies.
• Identify Purpose (AA): Enables user agents to determine the purpose of user interface components.
• Reflow (AA): Allows content to be presented without loss of information or functionality, and without requiring scrolling in two dimensions.
• Non-Text Contrast (AA): Requires a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 for visual presentation of user interface components and graphical objects.
• Text Spacing (AA): Ensures no loss of content or functionality occurs when users adjust text spacing.
• Content on Hover or Focus (AA): Ensures that content revealed on hover or focus is dismissible, hoverable, and persistent.

New Success Criteria in WCAG 2.2

WCAG 2.2 adds nine new success criteria:

• Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) (AA): When a user interface component receives keyboard focus, the component is not entirely hidden due to author-created content.
• Focus Appearance (AA): The focus indicator has a minimum area and contrast ratio, ensuring it is visible.
• Dragging Movements (AA): All functionality that uses dragging movements can be operated by a single pointer without dragging.
• Target Size (Minimum) (AA): The target size for pointer inputs is at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels.
• Redundant Entry (AA): Information previously entered by the user is either auto-populated or available for the user to select.
• Accessible Authentication (Minimum) (AA): Authentication processes do not rely solely on cognitive function tests.
• Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced) (AAA): When a user interface component receives keyboard focus, no part of the component is hidden by author-created content.
• Consistent Help (AAA): If a web page contains help mechanisms, they are available in the same relative order on each page.
• Accessible Authentication (Enhanced) (AAA): Provides alternative authentication methods without relying on cognitive function tests.

Why WCAG Compliance Is Important?

Making your website or app accessible means everyone can use it, including people with disabilities.

• Accessibility for All: Removes barriers so people with disabilities, older adults, and those with temporary impairments can use your website or app easily.
• Legal Compliance: Helps your organization follow accessibility laws and regulations in many countries. This reduces the risk of legal actions, fines, or penalties related to accessibility issues.

• Improved Usability: Enhances the overall experience for all users by making your site easier to navigate and understand, encouraging visitors to stay longer and return.

• Strong Reputation: Shows that your organization values fairness, inclusion, and equal access for everyone. This builds trust with customers, partners, and the wider community.
• Better SEO Performance: Accessible websites often rank higher in search engines because clear structure, proper headings, and descriptive text improve SEO. This means more organic traffic and visibility for your site.

How WCAG Levels Affect Accessibility?

The different WCAG levels impact how well people with varying disabilities can use your website or app:

• Basic Accessibility (Level A): This level fixes the most critical barriers so users with disabilities can access essential content and functions. Without this, many users might be blocked entirely.
• Improved Accessibility (Level AA): It adds requirements that make your site easier to use for people with a range of disabilities, such as better color contrast for low-vision users and clearer navigation for screen reader users. This level significantly improves usability for most people with disabilities.
• Enhanced Accessibility (Level AAA): It offers the highest level of accessibility by addressing the needs of users with more complex or severe disabilities. It provides extra support like simplified language and enhanced visual cues.

Choosing a higher level means more people can comfortably access and use your site, but it also requires more effort in design and development.

Common WCAG Violations Across Compliance Levels

Certain accessibility issues frequently cause websites or apps to fail WCAG standards. These common violations impact users at different levels.

• Missing Alt Text: Images without descriptive alternative text block screen reader users from understanding visual content.
• Insufficient Color Contrast: Text or essential elements with low contrast make reading or distinguishing content hard for users with vision impairments.
• Non-Keyboard Accessible Elements: Interactive parts of the site that can’t be used with a keyboard prevent users who rely on keyboard navigation from accessing functionality.
• Improper Heading Structure: Poorly organized headings confuse screen reader users and make content hard to follow.
• Lack of Focus Indicators: Keyboard users need a visible outline or highlight on the item they are on. Without this, they can’t tell where their focus is while navigating.
• Auto-Playing Media: Content that plays automatically can distract or overwhelm users with cognitive disabilities or sensory sensitivities.

WCAG testing helps avoid these issues, enhances overall accessibility, and ensures your website and mobile app are usable for people with disabilities.

WCAG Compliance for Web and Mobile Apps

Websites and mobile apps both must follow WCAG guidelines to be accessible, but the way these rules apply differs due to the unique nature of each platform. Web accessibility ensures content works well across different browsers and input methods like keyboards and screen readers. It relies heavily on proper HTML structure, clear navigation, and sufficient color contrast.

Mobile apps, however, operate within native environments on devices like smartphones and tablets. Accessibility here must consider touch interactions, gestures, voice commands, and platform-specific tools such as VoiceOver on iOS and TalkBack on Android.

Here are the differences between web and mobile accessibility guidelines.

How BrowserStack Helps Comply with WCAG Levels

BrowserStack provides tools that make testing your website or app for WCAG compliance easier and more efficient. It offers access to over 3,500+ real devices, browsers, and OS combinations to check how accessible your site is across different platforms. This helps identify issues related to keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, and visual presentation.

Here are the key features of BrowserStack Accessibility:

• Spectra Rule Engine: Automatically detects WCAG issues like focus visibility, color contrast, content reflow, and authentication accessibility to speed testing.
• Real Screen Reader Testing: Tests website accessibility using real screen readers, such as VoiceOver, NVDA, and TalkBack, on actual devices.
• Automated Accessibility Scans: Performs fast scans that uncover critical issues, including color contrast, focus indicators, and text readability.
• Assisted Tests: Detects the natural tab order of your webpage and guides you to fix complex issues like accessible names, roles, form usability, page structure, images, modals, and tables with clear, actionable reports.

Talk to an Expert

• Central Reporting Dashboard: Provides detailed reports on accessibility issues, trends, and progress for efficient debugging and compliance tracking.
• BrowserStack AI for Accessibility: Uses advanced machine learning to automatically group, prioritize, and suggest fixes for accessibility problems, helping teams focus on and resolve the most urgent issues efficiently.
• Accessibility Design Toolkit: Provides designers with intuitive tools to validate and enhance accessibility during the design phase, making it easy to build inclusive digital experiences from the outset.

Conclusion

There are different levels of WCAG compliance, including Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. Each level defines a set of criteria that websites and apps must meet to ensure accessibility for users with various disabilities. However, Level AA is the most commonly targeted standard and covers essential accessibility features that balance usability and feasibility.

BrowserStack gives you access to real devices that simplify accessibility testing across web and mobile platforms. Features like Spectra Rule Engine and Assisted Tests help detect and fix issues faster, while real device screen reader testing ensures your content works well in real user conditions.

Try BrowserStack for Free