What WCAG is
WCAG stands for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. They are a set of recommendations for making web content more accessible, published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the international body that develops web standards, through its Web Accessibility Initiative. They have been developed through a public process and have been through several versions. Version 2.0 appeared in 2008, 2.1 followed in 2018 and 2.2 in 2023. Always check the W3C’s site for the latest version and wording, because standards are revised.
WCAG is written mainly for web designers and developers, but its reach goes further. Marketers publish pages, emails, images, documents and video that fall within its scope, so the ideas matter to them too.
This article is a general overview, not legal advice or a compliance guide.
Why marketers hear about it
There are three main reasons the term turns up in marketing conversations.
- Websites and campaigns are covered by the content. Landing pages, forms, banners, PDFs, videos and emails are all content that can meet or miss the guidelines.
- Rules often point to it. Many laws, public-sector requirements, procurement documents and contracts refer to WCAG as the technical yardstick. Which duties apply to you depends on your country, sector, size and what you offer, and these change. Whether a particular rule applies to your business is a question for a qualified professional, not something this article can answer.
- Clients and partners ask. Larger organisations sometimes ask suppliers whether their pages or campaigns meet a certain WCAG level.
Beyond obligation, the guidelines are a practical, well-tested list of what tends to go wrong for users, which makes them useful as a checklist.
The four principles
WCAG is organised around four principles, often abbreviated as POUR.
Perceivable
Information must be presented in ways people can perceive. That includes text alternatives for images, captions for video, content that does not rely on a single sense, and enough contrast between text and background. See our guides to alt text, video captions and colour contrast.
Operable
People must be able to operate the interface. Everything should work with a keyboard, users need enough time, nothing should flash dangerously, and navigation should be clear. A button that can only be used with a mouse fails here, as does a popup that cannot be closed from the keyboard.
Understandable
Content and interface behaviour must be understandable. Language should be clear, forms should have labels and helpful error messages, and the page should behave predictably. Our article on plain language touches on this principle.
Robust
Content must work reliably with a range of browsers and assistive technologies, including future ones. Clean, standard markup helps.
Success criteria and levels
Under each principle there are guidelines, and each guideline has testable success criteria. Each criterion is assigned a conformance level:
- Level A: the most basic requirements.
- Level AA: a more demanding level that addresses more barriers. It is the level most commonly referenced in laws, policies and contracts.
- Level AAA: the highest level. WCAG itself notes that it is not always possible to meet AAA for all content, so it is generally not set as a blanket target.
If someone asks whether your site is “WCAG compliant”, the useful follow-up question is “which version and which level?” Level AA is a common reference point.
A few examples of what success criteria look like in practice, at level AA:
- Normal text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 with its background.
- Images that carry information have a text alternative.
- Pre-recorded video with speech has captions.
- Pages can be used with a keyboard.
- Form fields have labels or instructions.
- Text can be resized up to 200 percent without losing content or function.
What WCAG does not do
- It does not guarantee a good experience. A page can meet the criteria and still be confusing. Testing with real users reveals problems automated checks miss.
- It does not cover everything in marketing. It speaks to web content. Printed material, in-person events and some platform-specific features are outside its direct scope, though the principles still help.
- Automated tools find only part of the issues. Many checks need human judgement, such as whether alt text is meaningful.
- It is not a substitute for advice about your own legal position.
How a small marketing team can use it
You do not need to read the full specification to benefit. A realistic approach:
- Learn the main themes. Text alternatives, captions, contrast, keyboard use, clear labels and clear language cover a large share of common problems.
- Build habits into production. Add checks to your content calendar and templates, so each email, page or post follows them.
- Test the key journeys. Walk through your main landing page and sign-up form with only a keyboard, then with a screen reader if you can.
- Use automated checkers as a first pass. Then follow up with a manual review.
- Ask your web provider. If someone else builds your site or email templates, ask what accessibility checks they do and which WCAG level they work to.
- Document what you did. A short log of checks and fixes is useful if questions come up later.
Checking page speed or running a landing page checklist already involves a similar review mindset; accessibility can be added to the same checklist.
A sensible attitude
It is easy to treat standards as a threat. A calmer view is that WCAG is a shared vocabulary for something you probably want anyway: marketing that more people can use. Aim for steady improvement, fix the high-impact problems first, and keep checking as your content changes. If legal compliance is a concern for your business, take advice from a qualified professional in your country.