WCAG 2.1 -Accessibility Guideline for Creating Digital Design
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 defines how to make Web content more accessible to people with disabilities. Accessibility involves a wide range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities. Although these guidelines cover a wide range of issues, they are not able to address the needs of people with all types, degrees, and combinations of disability. These guidelines also make Web content more usable by older individuals with changing abilities due to aging and often improve usability for users in general (w3.org).
Compared to WCAG 2.0, the new version 2.1 focuses more on 3 sections:
Mobile Technology
Mobile platform has increased rapidly. People access internet and use all apps and service through phone instead of other devices. Hence, enhancing mobile accessibility for digital products or service has come vital.
Low vision
Studies of accessibility requirements for people with low vision have been conducted for years. Around 246 million people across the world suffered from low vision. It is not surprised that we have to recognize and come up with solutions to help low vision people able to approach more digital service effectively.
Cognitive disabilities
This not only addresses issues of how to help people with cognitive disability access digital service but impacts widely design thinking as a human-centric approach
12 Most Important WCAG 2.1 Criteria
1. Orientation
/mobile/
“Content does not restrict its view and operation to a single display orientation, such as portrait or landscape, unless a specific display orientation is essential.”
Meaning that digital applications have to make sure the content and functionality work in both horizontal and vertical orientation.
2. Identify Input Purpose
/Cognitive/
“The purpose of each input field collecting information about the user can be programmatically determined when: the input field serves a purpose identified in the Input Purposes for User Interface Components section; and the content is implemented using technologies with support for identifying the expected meaning for form input data.”
Meaning that to help people with cognitive disabilities understand and use form inputs, we should use universal and familiar terms or set of symbols. Perhaps in the future we could even allow them to customize their own set of inputs that works the best for them.
3. Reflow
/Low vision/
“Content can be presented without loss of information or functionality, and without requiring scrolling in two dimensions for:
Vertical scrolling content at a width equivalent to 320 CSS pixels.
Horizontal scrolling content is at a height equivalent to 256, except for parts of the content which require two-dimensional layout for usage or meaning.”
Low vision people usually need text with double size. The impact of horizontal scrolling can increase the reading effort to 40–100%; therefore, try to avoid designs that require horizontal scrolling.
4. Non-text contrast
/Low vision/
“The visual presentation of the following have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 against adjacent color(s):
User Interface Components: Visual information required to identify user interface components and states, except for inactive components or where the appearance of the component is determined by the user agent and not modified by the author
Graphical Objects: Parts of graphics required to understand the content, except when a particular presentation of graphics is essential to the information being conveyed.”
Pay attention for color contrast requirements for text and images, in order to make low vision people easily to recognize what is important. The visual presentation of text and images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, except for large text and images with contrast ration of at least 3:1.
Active User Interface Component Examples
For designing focus indicators, selection indicators and user interface components that need to be perceived clearly, the following are examples that have sufficient contrast.
5. Text spacing
/Low vision/
“In content implemented using markup languages that support the following text style properties, no loss of content or functionality occurs by setting all of the following and by changing no other style property:
Line height (line spacing) to at least 1.5 times the font size;
Spacing following paragraphs to at least 2 times the font size;
Letter spacing (tracking) to at least 0.12 times the font size;
Word spacing to at least 0.16 times the font size.
Exception: Human languages and scripts that do not make use of one or more of these text style properties in written text can conform using only the properties that exist for that combination of language and script.”
Ensure that people with low vision can override paragraph spacing, letter spacing, word spacing and line height.
6. Content on Hover or Focus
/Low vision/
“Where receiving and then removing pointer hover or keyboard focus triggers additional content to become visible and then hidden, the following are true:
Dismissable: A mechanism is available to dismiss the additional content without moving pointer hover or keyboard focus, unless the additional content communicates an input error or does not obscure or replace other content;
Hoverable: If pointer hover can trigger the additional content, then the pointer can be moved over the additional content without the additional content disappearing;
Persistent: The additional content remains visible until the hover or focus trigger is removed, the user dismisses it, or its information is no longer valid.
Exception: The visual presentation of the additional content is controlled by the user agent and is not modified by the author.”
Meaning that hover content that appears on top of the current content may challenge people with low vision in focusing and reading.
7. Character Key Shortcuts
/Mobile/
“If a keyboard shortcut is implemented in content using only letter (including upper- and lower-case letters), punctuation, number, or symbol characters, then at least one of the following is true:
Turn off: A mechanism is available to turn the shortcut off;
Remap: A mechanism is available to remap the shortcut to use one or more non-printable keyboard characters (e.g. Ctrl, Alt, etc.);
Active only on focus: The keyboard shortcut for a user interface component is only active when that component has focus.”
Help users who use speech-to-text technology to interact with the content effectively without accidentally triggering unexpected functionalities due to a shortcut.
8. Pointer Gestures
/Mobile/
“All functionality that uses multipoint or path-based gestures for operation can be operated with a single pointer without a path-based gesture, unless a multipoint or path-based gesture is essential.”
Some users cannot operate complex pointer gestures on mobile. For example, two-finger pinch or zoom might be impossible for some users. Therefore try to avoid using more than one single pointer gesture when design digital app.
9. Pointer Cancellation
/Mobile/
“For functionality that can be operated using a single pointer, at least one of the following is true:
No Down-Event: The down-event of the pointer is not used to execute any part of the function;
Abort or Undo: Completion of the function is on the up-event, and a mechanism is available to abort the function before completion or to undo the function after completion;
Up Reversal: The up-event reverses any outcome of the preceding down-event;
Essential: Completing the function on the down-event is essential.”
Reduce the chance that people with disabilities would inadvertently initiate touch or activated unwanted functions.
10. Label in Name
/Mobile/
“For user interface components with labels that include text or images of text, the name contains the text that is presented visually.”
Help users who rely on speech-to-text technology to interact with content based on intuitive visual label.
11. Motion Actuation
/Mobile/
“Functionality that can be operated by device motion or user motion can also be operated by user interface components and responding to the motion can be disabled to prevent accidental actuation, except when:
Supported Interface: The motion is used to operate functionality through an accessibility supported interface;
Essential: The motion is essential for the function and doing so would invalidate the activity.”
Do not make users with disability tilt or shake the phone in order to activate functionality.
12. Status Messages
/Cognitive/
“In content implemented using markup languages, status messages can be programmatically determined through role or properties such that they can be presented to the user by assistive technologies without receiving focus.”
Make sure that error message or success message appear clearly in the page. Low vision people may have difficulty to find those status messages if they have been added so subtly to the page.
Conclusion
In this following link you can find the whole document of WCAG 2.1 Requirement.
In practice, The EU is likely to make WCAG 2.1 a requirement as early as 2019. Many developers, designers, and accessibility experts are already considering WCAG 2.1 as documented best practices that can be implemented today. I personally think it is really good to take into account those requirements in order to make your digital designs easier to access and approach more users.
Hope you find the article helpful! :)
