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Chapter 2: Learn About Web Accessibility Standards and Guidelines

Introduction​

To make the web accessible, we need to follow certain standards and guidelines. In this chapter, we'll explore the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA). These standards provide a framework for creating accessible web content and applications.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)​

The WCAG is a set of guidelines developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities. The guidelines are organized around four principles:

  • Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. This means that users must be able to perceive the information being presented.
  • Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable. This means that users must be able to operate the interface.
  • Understandable: Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable. This means that users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface.
  • Robust: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. This means that users must be able to access the content as technologies advance.

The WCAG guidelines are further divided into three levels of conformance: A (lowest), AA, and AAA (highest). Most organizations aim for AA compliance.

Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA)​

ARIA is a set of attributes that you can add to HTML elements to define ways to make web content and web applications more accessible to people with disabilities. ARIA helps with dynamic content and advanced user interface controls developed with JavaScript, HTML, and Ajax.

Here are some key concepts:

  • Roles: ARIA roles provide information about how an element should work or be treated by assistive technology.
  • Properties: ARIA properties give additional information about elements. They can change over time, like when a user interacts with controls.
  • States: ARIA states indicate the current condition of an element, and can change in response to user interaction.

ARIA should be used as a complement to semantic HTML, not as a replacement. Always use native HTML elements when they are available and appropriate for your use case.

Conclusion​

Understanding WCAG and ARIA is crucial for creating accessible web experiences. The guidelines provide a roadmap to accessibility, while ARIA provides the tools to make rich web applications accessible. In the following chapters, we'll explore how to apply these standards and guidelines in design and development.