What is WCAG? 

If you’re a business owner, then you’ve likely heard about WCAG (the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). But what are they? And more importantly, do they apply to you and your website? 

In this blog post, we’ll break down everything you need to know about WCAG and how WCAG audits can help make your website more accessible for all users. So, read on to learn more! 

What is WCAG? 

WCAG, or the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, is a set of international standards for making web content accessible to people with disabilities. The guidelines are organized around four main principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.  

By following these guidelines, web developers can ensure that their content can be accessed by as many people as possible. WCAG is an important tool for making the web a more inclusive place for everyone. 

Why Should Your Business Conform to WCAG? 

There are a number of reasons why your business should consider conforming to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). One key reason is that it can help you to avoid discrimination claims.  

The guidelines provide a set of standards for making web content accessible to people with disabilities, and if your website fails to meet these standards, you could be accused of discriminating against potential customers with disabilities.  

In addition, conforming to the WCAG can help you to improve your search engine optimization (SEO) by making your website more accessible to search engines. Finally, increasing the accessibility of your website can simply be the right thing to do, as it allows everyone to have access to your content regardless of their abilities or disabilities.  

Consequently, there are a number of good reasons why your business should think about conforming to the WCAG standards. 

What are the Goals of WCAG? 

The goals of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are to improve the accessibility of web content for people with disabilities and to create a single shared standard for web accessibility that can be used by governments, businesses, and individuals around the world. The WCAG standards are developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international consortium of organizations that develops standards for the web.  

The WCAG standards are based on four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. These principles are designed to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities, including those who are blind or have low vision, deaf or hard of hearing, mobility impairments, cognitive impairments, and/or seizure disorders.  

By following the WCAG standards, web content creators can make their content more accessible to a wider range of people. 

When to Audit Your Content for WCAG Conformance 

Any website or digital content should be periodically checked for conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These standards provide guidance on how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities.  

While it is not required by law to conform to WCAG, many companies choose to do so in order to ensure that their products are accessible to as many people as possible. There are a number of different tools that can be used to audit content for WCAG compliance, and it is generally recommended to perform such audits on a regular basis.