Web Accessibility – AccessiBe Explaining the WCAG 2.0 Checkpoints to Ensure Compliance

Web accessibility demands the website and other online utilities to ensure ADA compliance. As of late, the standard followed for accessibility is WCAG 2.0 and the web designer and developers need to be aware of this. This article will discuss a few checkpoints pertaining to WCAG 2.0 guidelines for web accessibility.

AccessiBe WCAG 2.0 checkpoints

Here are a few fundamental checkpoints for accessibility compliance as specified by WCAG 2.0 explained by AccessiBe.

About compliance with non-text content

• All informative elements, which are in a non-text format like images, charts, icons, maps, etc., need to have proper alt text describing the purpose and meaning of the media.
• There must be options as options available for audio alternatives for CAPTCHA and OTP etc.
• Should also give the text summary and description for graphs and complex charts other than just alt text. 
• Must use the title attribute for add-on info while using the alt attribute in the image links.

Time-specific media

• The proper text description should be given for audio content, which is prerecorded. Either an audio transcript or a text description must be provided for video content.
• Must provide text transcription for all audio tracks.
• Offer either text transcription or audio track for silent videos.
• If audio is provided for video, then text transcript may not be mandatory.

Captions

• Captions should be given for all audio content in synchronized media.
• Provide the captions for a video that features audio.
• If there are video alternatives for text content, not mandatory to have captions.
• If possible, offer captions in many languages that which potential audience may understand so that everyone can follow.

Information and relationships

• Information and relationship shared through presentations should be determined programmatically or made available in text form.
• For emphasis, use <em> or <strong> instead of just bold and italic text to highlight any important points. For quotations, use <blockquote>.
• For headings, should follow the logical HTML heading markups.
• For tables, use HTML table markup, which features row headers and column headers for complex data tables.
• Using the nested tables, try to break the content down to smaller tables instead of maintaining nested tables.
• For forms, programmatically associate all visual labels and also incorporate accessible names for all the form fields and elements.
• Markup contents of the lists fall logically into the ordered and unordered lists. Never simply leave any large text blocks without paragraphs and proper listing.
• Offer labels for grouping form elements like checkboxes or radio buttons. Use legend for achieving group-level association and native elements; put ARIA when custom form controls are used.
• Also, use the native semantic markup as an alternative to ARIA when needed.

Meaningful Sequence

• Ensure that the page content is arranged in meaningful sequence to be interpreted easily by assistive technologies like screen readers or other tools.
• Ensure that the content on-page is intuitive and logical.
• Write the HTML code first and then work on CSS-based design.
• Ensure that the DOM order matches the visual order.
• Use headers, paragraphs, lists, etc., to mark page content.
• Ensure that the users can easily differentiate between navigation menus.

There are just a few fundamentals to consider while assuring ADA compliance. AccessiBe is a leading accessibility compliance consultant who will be able to assist you in checking the accessibility vulnerabilities and guidance to fix the same.