As digital accessibility becomes more prominent, there are a lot of acronyms and terms that are not defined. Here’s some useful background, which staff can use to help align a project’s design, inform conversations with contractors, and coordinate with project officers’ expectations.
Government Requirements and Laws
ADA
The Americans with Disabilities Act is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against, and requires equitable access for, people with disabilities. ADA’s connection to digital accessibility may not be immediately obvious, but digital accessibility is considered covered under the large umbrella of equal access to public areas that ADA guarantees. However, there is no language in the law explicitly dedicated to digital content because it was written in 1990 — well before the rise of the digital era.
Section 504
Section 504 of the of the 1973 (Vocational) Rehabilitation Act requires any entity that gets federal funding to provide equal access to electronic information technologies for people with disabilities.
Section 508
Section 508 of the 1973 (Vocational) Rehabilitation Act requires federal agencies provide equal access to electronic information technologies for people with disabilities. It was originally written in 1998, and then updated in 2018 ("508 Refresh") to include standards for mobile technology.
Industry Standards
WCAG
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG, are a series of web accessibility guidelines published by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international organization dedicated to establishing open web standards.
WCAG 2.0
The original version of WCAG was released in 1999 and focused on how to make existing technologies more accessible, however the pace of technology quickly overtook the guidelines. To remedy that, W3C went back to the drawing board and came up with WCAG 2.0 in 2008. 2.0 changed the emphasis of the guidelines from specific technologies to a principle-based approach. Now, rather than requiring that all web browsers meet a specific technical standard, WCAG requires that digital products, including content, adhere to four basic principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust (or POUR).
Version 2.0 also introduced the concept of conformance levels. There are now three different levels of WCAG compliance: A (lowest), AA (middle), AAA (greatest).
WCAG 2.0 AA is the accepted standard for government compliance, even though it does not include mobile technology.
WCAG 2.1
In 2018 W3C released WCAG 2.1, which updated the existing iteration by addressing the rise of mobile technology. It’s important to note that all WCAG versions are backwards compatible, so being 2.1 compliant means that you are also 1.0 and 2.0 compliant.
ASTHO has adopted WCAG 2.1 AA as the organization’s standard.
WCAG 2.2
WCAG 2.2 was officially adopted by W3C in October 2023 and is currently being examined by the ASTHO web team for implementation. It is likely that updates to this and other ASTHO accessibility documents are on the horizon as we get a better feel for this newest set of recommendations.
Future WCAG Versions?
WCAG 3.0 is currently in development but is considered an incomplete draft. While changes between 2.1 and 2.2 are minor, 3.0 is expected to be a major paradigm shift.
POUR
POUR principles are mostly related to design but do have some overlap with content creation. All four of the principles focus on the user’s experience. Digital content should be:
Perceivable
All information must be presented in a way that ensures users can perceive it using at least one of their senses.
Example of Meeting the Perceivable Standard
A podcast that includes transcripts, so users who cannot hear can still enjoy the episode.
Learn About the Perceivable Principle
Operable
A website is considered operable if all users can effectively navigate it, even those who employ assistive technology.
Example of Meeting the Operable Standard
A website that can be navigated with both a mouse and a keyboard is considered operable, because visitors who cannot use a mouse are still able to access all the information on the page.
Learn About the Operable Principle
Understandable
This is a two-pronged principle — users must be able to understand how to use your site and understand the content.
Example of Meeting the Understandable Standard (Use)
An online survey with buttons to advance through multiple pages should be laid out in a way that a user would expect. For example, on an English language site the buttons to move backward and advance through pages should be sequenced from left to right, because that is the reading direction for English. However, a Hebrew language site would have the buttons sequenced in the opposite direction because Hebrew is read from right to left.
Example of Meeting the Understandable Standard (Content)
The best way to ensure that all users will be able to understand your content is to employ plain language, a principle that encourages using clear, organized language to ensure everyone will understand your content easily. Plain language promotes equity not only to people with disabilities, but also to people who speak English as a second language, and more. Think of the saying: never use a four-syllable word when a one-syllable word will do.
Learn About the Understandable Principle
Robust
Your content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted by multiple technologies, including assistive devices like screen readers.
Example of Meeting the Robust Standard
A website should be equally usable and accessible on a desktop, phone, or tablet.
Learn About the Robust Principle
How It Works
You may have noticed that none of the laws includes a checklist. That’s because the goal for all of them is to remain evergreen so they won’t become obsolete as technology advances. Even WCAG standards are minimally prescriptive. The idea is to integrate the POUR principles into development to ensure that users will be able to access the content regardless of disability type.
Common Types of Assistive Technology
Many people with disabilities use specialized technologies, broadly called “assistive technology,” to make navigating the world easier and more equitable. What is assistive technology? It includes a wide range of devices, like screen readers, speech-to-text software, and head or eye trackers. Not all assistive technologies are digital, though — wheelchairs and hearing aids are some of the best-known products in this field.
In the context of digital accessibility, individuals with disabilities are generally grouped into four overarching categories: visual, hearing, physical/mobility, and cognitive. There are specialized techniques and devices that are designed to help users across all of these disability types. And it is important to remember that there is a huge range within each category — visual, for example, includes many disparate conditions, such as colorblindness, low vision, and total loss of vision.
Note that the following examples are not comprehensive — there are many other technologies and techniques that are not covered here.
Visual
This is perhaps the best-represented category when discussing digital accessibility. Assistive technologies and techniques include:
- Screen readers
- High color contrast ratios
- Screen magnifiers
Hearing
Assistive technologies and techniques include:
- Captions on videos
- Transcripts for videos or podcast episodes
- Comprehensive text (supplemented by speaker notes) on slides
Physical/Mobility
Assistive technologies and techniques include:
- Using the keyboard to navigate
- Adaptive switches
- Voice recognition software
Cognitive
Assistive technologies and techniques include:
- Reader mode on webpages
- Simple design (e.g., no flashing images or pop-ups)
- Progress indicators as the user moves through a series of pages
There’s a lot of overlap in assistive technologies, as well. For example, many users with visual impairments will also use a keyboard to navigate through a page or document, and voice recognition software can be helpful for users with visual or cognitive disabilities.
Accessible Design: Necessary for Some, Useful for All
Assistive technology and accessible design can help users who are not members of the disability community, in both the physical world and in the digital space. The same way we all benefit from curb cuts and automatic doors, we all benefit from alt text and better linking practices.
- Closed captions and transcripts can be useful for people learning a new language.
- Closed captions are useful for viewers in a noisy environment, or an environment where noise is not permitted (such as the library or the quiet car on a train).
- Alt text for images is useful if a slow internet connection keeps a picture from downloading.
- The ability to pause an image carousel is useful for everyone. (It’s worth noting that auto-forwarding carousels annoy users and reduce visibility, so skipping them entirely is probably good practice all around.)
- The ability to navigate a digital product with the keyboard is useful for anyone who has a broken mouse or trackpad.
- Voice-to-text software is useful for people with temporary disabilities (such as a broken hand) and for people who process ideas better when talking.
- Using underlines and color for linked text is helpful for all users, as links without those features can be difficult to identify.