Web accessibility (WCAG)

In short

• Accessibility is about people who use a product differently: by keyboard, by screen reader, with low vision, or with captions.
• WCAG level AA is the usual target. Most regulations and contracts point to version 2.1 or 2.2 at that level.
• Most problems are cheap to avoid in design and code, and slow to fix once a product is built.
• Automated checkers catch only part of the issues. A keyboard and a screen reader catch much of the rest.

Also called: Accessibility, WCAG, a11y, Accessible design, Digital accessibility.

What accessibility means in practice

A product is accessible when people can use it whatever way they interact with a device. Someone who is blind uses a screen reader that reads the page aloud. Someone with a tremor may use only a keyboard. Someone with low vision zooms the page to 200 percent or more. Someone in a loud train watches a video with captions. Each of them needs the product to work without the mouse, the eyes, or the ears the designer assumed.

Much of this also helps everyone else. Clear contrast is easier to read in sunlight, captions help people in quiet offices, and a form that works by keyboard is faster for heavy users. Accessible products are usually just clearer products.

How WCAG is organized

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are published by the W3C, the body that sets web standards. Version 2.0 came out in 2008, 2.1 in 2018, and 2.2 in 2023. The guidelines are built on four principles: content must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. Under them sit testable success criteria, each assigned a level.

Accessibility law differs by country. In the EU, the European Accessibility Act has applied since June 28, 2025 to many consumer products and services, such as online stores and banking, with an exemption for the smallest service businesses. In the United States, accessibility claims are often brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act. If your product sells in a regulated market, get legal advice on what applies to you.

What to check before launch

A short list catches the problems that come up most often. None of it needs special equipment.

• Keyboard only. Put the mouse away and use Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, and Escape. Every control should be reachable, in a sensible order, with a visible focus outline.
• Color contrast. Body text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 against its background at level AA, and large text at least 3 to 1.
• Text alternatives. Images that carry meaning need alt text. Decorative images should be hidden from screen readers.
• Forms. Every field has a visible label, and errors say in words what went wrong instead of relying on red alone.
• Screen reader pass. Try VoiceOver on a Mac or iPhone, or TalkBack on Android, through the main user flow.
• Zoom and reflow. At 200 percent zoom, or on a small phone, nothing should be cut off or need sideways scrolling.

Building it in from the start

Accessibility is cheapest when it is part of the design system. If the color tokens meet contrast rules and the core components handle focus, labels, and keyboard use, every screen built from them starts out accessible. Fixing the same problems later means touching every screen. Choie sets up design systems in design and in code together, so contrast, focus states, and text sizes are settled once in the components.

It also belongs in QA testing. Automated tools such as axe or Lighthouse find missing labels and low contrast quickly, but they cannot tell whether alt text makes sense or whether a flow is usable by keyboard. A short manual pass on each release covers that gap.

Common mistakes

• Leaving it to the end. An audit after launch turns small design choices into a long list of fixes.
• Relying on an overlay. Scripts that claim to make a site accessible with one line of code do not fix the underlying markup.
• Color as the only signal. A red border alone does not tell a color-blind user which field has an error.
• Removing focus outlines. Hiding the outline because it looks untidy leaves keyboard users unable to see where they are.
• Testing only with tools. A clean automated report does not mean a person can actually complete the task.

Choie's builds put a new live link in your hands every Friday, so a keyboard and screen reader pass can happen on working screens each week instead of once at the end.

Common questions