What WCAG 2.1 AA means for a small business website

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is a technical standard from the W3C. Version 2.1 has three levels: A, AA and AAA. Level AA is the one most organizations and policies point to.

The four principles

• Perceivable. Text alternatives for images, captions for video, enough color contrast.
• Operable. Everything works with a keyboard, nothing traps focus, focus is visible.
• Understandable. Clear labels, predictable navigation, helpful error messages.
• Robust. Clean code that assistive technology can read.

Where to start

1. Run a free automated scan to find the obvious issues.
2. Use your site with only a keyboard.
3. Fix forms, contrast and image alt text first. They are common and fixable.
4. Have a person test key pages with a screen reader.

A note on overlays

Widgets that promise one-line compliance do not fix the underlying code. Fixing the site itself is the reliable path.

This guide is educational and is not legal advice. Talk to an attorney about your legal obligations.

Source: W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1.